Sonic Forces: Finite Resistance
by NetRaptor
Summary: When Sonic is presumed dead, Eggman spends the next six months capturing and destroying Mobius, country by country. Only the Resistance is left to oppose him, lead by Knuckles, Silver, and Shadow. When Sonic is rescued from the Death Egg, he and his friends join forces in the desperate, losing battle against Eggman and the mysterious Infinite.
1. Chapter 1: The taste of fear and misery

This is a stand-alone story, not part of any series. And it's a good thing, because nobody wants to see my SatAM series get completely wrecked. New chapter every week!

* * *

Artemis the wolf met Infinite for the first time when her city fell prey to the Eggman Empire.

For weeks, the news had covered the hostile negotiations between Dr. Eggman and Spagonia. Artemis watched the vid screen in her home with her parents, but it seemed unreal and far away.

"He'll never get as far as Willow Springs," her father scoffed. "Our forces are deployed at the Spagonia border. Eggman is insane if he thinks he'll win a war."

Reassured, Artemis went about her life, attending school, doing homework, hanging out with friends. The young wolf had beautiful magenta fur, and the biggest excitement of her life was being allowed to bleach streaks in it.

"If Eggman gets to Willow Springs," she told her friends, "the least I can do is look good." They were sitting on the lawn outside her house, her two other wolf friends carefully painting bleach into her fur.

One of her friends looked up. "Ugh, no. Here comes Honir."

Artemis couldn't turn her head because it would mess up the stripes they were painting on her cheek-fur. "Who's Honir?"

Her friend Sapphire rolled her eyes. "He's this jackal who keeps hanging around our pack. The alpha told him to get lost, but he hasn't."

Artemis squinted sideways, trying to see. A jackal with black fur and a white muzzle was crossing the lawn toward them, shooting anxious looks at the house, as if hoping no one would notice him. He walked with a cringing, fearful crouch. Aside from a fluffy tail, he didn't look much different from a wolf.

"Don't jackals have packs?" Artemis said. Something about the way Honir moved sent a pang of pity through her heart. "Maybe he's lost them somehow."

"Or he was kicked out of his pack for being a loser," Sapphire muttered.

"Shh, here he comes," whispered her other friend, Jaden.

The jackal walked up and stood looking at them. "Hello. I'm Honir."

When neither of her friends spoke, Artemis said politely, "Hello, Honir. I'm Artemis, and this is Sapphire and Jaden."

"You're cubs from the Gemstone Pack, right?" Honir said.

"That's right," Sapphire snapped. "The most powerful wolf pack in Willow Springs."

Honir smiled briefly, as if this pained him. "You must tell your alpha that Eggman is sending his advance weapon tomorrow to destroy the city."

Sapphire and Jaden laughed. Artemis didn't. She gazed at Honir, troubled. He gazed back, his yellow eyes sad.

"Eggman will never even cross the border!" Jaden exclaimed. "Our military is more than a match for him. And if he does make it here, my dad can smash robots like that." She slapped a fist into one palm.

"This isn't a robot," Honir said. "This is a weapon nobody has ever seen before. All of you need to pack supplies tonight and prepare to evacuate to the edge of Spring Woods. Tell your pack."

The serious tone in his voice sent chills through Artemis that she didn't understand. Thoughts of nuclear missiles flickered through her mind. But people had seen those. What kind of weapon had never been seen before?

"Spring Woods!" Jaden exclaimed. "But that's, like, ten miles away. You're crazy."

Honir didn't respond to this. He turned to go, but hesitated, looking at Artemis. "And don't believe everything you see."

The jackal walked away. Artemis gazed after him, the fur on her back prickling. He might be lying, of course. But he might be telling the truth.

If she could believe him, Eggman was going to capture the city tomorrow. She'd seen the videos of what Eggman's armies had done to Apotos and Shamar. She looked around at the houses in her quiet neighborhood, imagining them burning, people running, giant robots striding down the highways.

Her world fell out of focus. Bleached fur lost its appeal. School no longer mattered. Nobody could fight Eggman's war machines. She would warn her pack. They'd need food and water, blankets, matches ...

"You're not taking him seriously, are you?" Sapphire exclaimed as Artemis stood up. "He's just a stupid jackal trying to sneak into our pack by saying scary stuff."

"Maybe," Artemis said faintly. "Go home and prep. If he's lying, it won't hurt anything."

"But we're not finished with your fur!" Jaden squealed.

Artemis looked down at the white stripes painted down her chest, arms, and right leg. "It looks fine to me." She went inside to shower, then told her parents what Honir had said.

They laughed, too. Her father repeated his reassurance that Eggman would never arrive. Her mother complimented her new stripes.

Artemis went away and packed her backpack.

* * *

The next day at noon, Infinite took Willow Springs.

The enemy army appeared out of nowhere. It was a mix of robots, Spagonian soldiers, and, disconcertingly, human soldiers who wore GUN uniforms with the logos printed upside down.

Willow Springs fought back, but there was no end to the army. They slaughtered people in the streets, anyone who shot at them, anyone who attacked using chaos powers, anyone who resisted. They ignored the buildings, so people barricaded themselves indoors.

The Gemstone Wolf Pack fought. Artemis saw the pack alpha fall with a bullet through one eye. Her pack mates, her parents, her friends, one by one were ruthlessly killed by this enormous, unstoppable army.

She hid in the courtyard of a hotel, sobbing, terrified, cowering in a corner. There was no escaping this. It was only a matter of time before they killed her, too. Why hadn't they listened to Honir? Why hadn't she fled last night? Why didn't her parents listen to her? Her whole world had spiraled into black emptiness.

"Ah, the taste of fear and misery," said a strange voice. "What a delicious mixture."

Artemis sat up with a gasp. On the other side of the courtyard, a creature floated ten feet off the ground. He was some kind of canine-the tail said wolf or jackal-but he wore a gleaming helmet that obscured his entire head. His fur might have been black, but it was hard to tell, because a nimbus of red light flowed around him. A scarlet crystal pulsed on his chest.

Artemis groped for her laser pistol, even though the battery was dead. Her hand shook so much, she only nudged the gun further away.

"Still trying to fight," the floating being observed. "Even though I have destroyed your entire pack and taken your city. Your fear is delightful. Go ahead. Run away and I'll let you live."

A lump of hot tears rose in Artemis's throat. She scrambled to her feet and ran out of the courtyard, away from that red person in the mask, away from his amused, condescending voice. She burst into tears as she ran. "I'm a coward! A stupid coward!"

She fled the fighting, hiding, running, hiding again. At last the buildings gave way to fields and pastures. She met other people, carrying packs like her own, fleeing Willow Springs.

"We have to get to the rendezvous," a bear told her. "Before sundown."

Artemis checked the sun. There were only a few hours of daylight left, the afternoon sun casting long shadows across the hills. Behind her, smoke rose from the city. Crowds of people were pouring out of it, some carrying the injured, others shepherding small children.

"What rendezvous?" Artemis asked, hurrying alongside the bear. She rarely spoke to any Mobian who wasn't a wolf, and hardly knew what to expect.

"The evacuation, of course," the bear said. "The Resistance got news of this attack far too late, but they're doing what they can."

A tiny sliver of hope entered Artemis's mind. Maybe all wasn't lost, then. Maybe there was hope for her and the rest of these people.

"So," said another voice, "I see my warning didn't do much."

Honir the jackal fell into step beside Artemis. His black fur was dusty, and he carried a small cat over one shoulder. The cat was barely older than a kitten, and slept on his shoulder as if exhausted.

"Honir!" Artemis exclaimed, overjoyed to see someone she recognized. "I told my family, but nobody believed me." She glanced at his tail. It had the same fluffy white tip that the terrifying floating being had.

"I saw ... someone," she said haltingly. "I think he was a jackal. But he wore a helmet. And he flew."

Honir gave her a sharp look. "Did he have a red stone embedded in his chest?"

Artemis nodded.

"That was Infinite," Honir said in a low voice. "The ultimate weapon. Where did you see him?"

"Back in the city," Artemis said. "He ... he said he would let me live if I ran away. So I did."

Honir closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. "You're lucky to be alive. Infinite kills for pleasure, but he enjoys pain even more. He wanted you to suffer."

"Why?" Artemis cried. "Why would anyone be so cruel?"

Honir shook his head. "There is no explaining evil. For now, all we can do is flee. But one day we will fight."

Artemis walked in silence, rolling the syllables around on her tongue. Infinite. He must have immense chaos power, and ruthlessness to match.

The rendezvous point was at the edge of the Spring Woods. A black hedgehog with red stripes paced back and forth, talking on a headset and counting refugees as they arrived. People whispered the name Shadow.

A group of Mobian soldiers greeted them soberly and arranged the refugees into orderly groups. Artemis sat on the leaves and watched. This must be the Resistance. They had already planned to rescue people. So not only Honir had known of this attack, then.

Shadow began using chaos control to transport the groups of people. By the time he got to Artemis's, he looked very tired, his black and red spines in disarray. How did you speak to a hedgehog? The way you spoke to a pack member? She didn't know his rank, but he definitely outranked her. She used her politest tone.

"I'm sorry, sir," she told him as the group joined hands. "That you're having to work so hard."

Shadow smiled bitterly. "I wasn't in time to save Willow Springs, kid. I'm the one who should apologize."

He was gruff, but friendly. Maybe hedgehogs didn't worry about pack ranks. They didn't have packs at all. She might be able to tell him things.

"I saw him," she blurted. "Infinite. With the helmet and the red gem."

The hedgehog looked at her, his expression sharpening. "And he let you live?"

Artemis nodded.

Shadow considered this for a long moment. "I'll take you to our commander once this evac stage is over. He'll want to know what you saw."

* * *

"How did this happen?" Knuckles exclaimed. He pointed at the wall of computer monitors that showed various maps and camera views of burning cities throughout Spagonia. "Eggman's forces are still held up at the border! Where did this second army come from?"

Amy Rose flicked through different screens and maps, the same ones, over and over. The pink hedgehog's face was pale, her eyes shadowed from lack of sleep. "There were no troop movements. No trace of an invasion force. This army appeared out of nowhere with ten thousand foot soldiers."

Knuckles looked wildly around at his other generals. Six months earlier, they had only been his friends. There were the Chaotix, Vector the crocodile, Charmy Bee, and Espio the Chameleon. Amy Rose stood at the computers. Silver, a white hedgehog, sat in a tattered folding chair with his arms folded and head bowed.

Sonic the Hedgehog was missing, and so was Tails. Their absence left a hole in the group that nobody talked about. Knuckles felt it like an ache in his spine. His friend, their most powerful fighter, their biggest morale-booster, was presumed dead. Tails, Sonic's sidekick, had abandoned them and wandered off into the wild somewhere, overcome by grief.

"Vector," Knuckles said, "do we have a place for the refugees?"

"Yeah, boss," the crocodile replied. "We've got them on troop carriers on their way to the Acorn Kingdom. They'll cross the border in a few hours."

"Good," Knuckles said, checking the maps. "At this rate, all of Spagonia will fall in three days. How is he doing this? I thought Apotos was bad-he took them out in one night."

"He must have some form of mass chaos control," Amy said, oblivious to the rest of the conversation. She was their tactical expert, specializing in the details of troop movements, supply lines, and hardware. "That's the only explanation for an army that appears out of nowhere."

Espio the chameleon stepped up beside her, his strange eyes searching the screens. "There." He found a drone video of the enemy army and froze it on a particular frame. "Those are GUN soldiers in the attacking army. But their uniforms are wrong."

Everyone crowded around the screens except Silver, who remained in his chair, head bowed.

"What the hell," Knuckles muttered under his breath. "Has GUN switched sides? But Spagonia's population is thirty percent human. They wouldn't turn on their own people."

"The uniforms," Amy muttered. "Something's wrong, here. They must be robots in repurposed outfits. Is Eggman using psychological warfare on us?"

"Why change tactics now?" Vector pointed out. "His other ones have worked so far."

A knock sounded at the door. Silver raised a finger, the tip glowing blue. The door swung open by itself.

Shadow stepped in, his black and red spines tangled and dirty. "Reporting in. All refugees relocated successfully."

Knuckles shook Shadow's hand. "Well done."

The black hedgehog looked at the screens. "I found a witness who survived an encounter with the weapon that destroyed Sonic."

Everyone straightened, gazes fixed on Shadow.

Shadow glanced over his shoulder and beckoned. A magenta wolf stepped into the room. She had the gangly look of an adolescent, arms and legs a little too long. Her fur had been fashionably bleached into white stripes, but her eyes held the desperate, lost look of a refugee.

Amy sprang to the wolf's side, taking her hand. "Welcome to the resistance. I'm Amy Rose. What's your name?"

"Artemis," the wolf said automatically. "Of the Gemstone Pack in Willow Springs."

Amy led the young wolf to a chair. Artemis sat on the edge, gazing at them as if expecting attack at any second.

Knuckles grabbed another two chairs from in front of the computers and set them down, facing the newcomer. He and Amy sat down. Amy opened a notepad.

"I'm Knuckles," he said, offering Artemis a hand. "I'm the commander of the Resistance for now. Shadow said you saw this ghost he's been talking about."

The wolf's eyes darted between Knuckles and Amy. "He wasn't a ghost. Honir called him Infinite. He was a ... a jackal, I think. With a helmet. And a red stone on his chest. And he flew."

"Hold on," Knuckles said. "Was this at the beginning of the invasion?"

"No ... toward the end." Artemis haltingly told them her story, of fighting a losing battle, hiding away, and being found by the terrifying glowing figure.

Amy scribbled notes with her tongue between her teeth. Knuckles listened, nodding as Artemis spoke. When she finished, he said, "It sounds like the same guy who took out Sonic. He's always on the sidelines of the worst attacks. I don't know what his connection is." He twisted around in his chair. "Shadow! Who's this Honir she mentioned?"

"A field agent," Shadow replied. He was sitting at a folding table, eating his way through a box of rations and looking weary. "He's out of our Mazuri branch. I haven't worked with him, but he's one of their best."

"Thanks." Knuckles faced Artemis again. "You're lucky to be alive, kid. Sorry we didn't get you on the transport with the rest. Do you mind staying here for a few days? We've got a war to fight and more people to save."

The wolf's gaze roamed the monitors that showed robots, fire, smoke, and fleeing people. She hunched her shoulders and nodded.

* * *

"Shamar surrendered to our superior strength," the Elder said. "They valued survival more than their so-called freedoms. Their leaders are begging for mercy in the Death Egg interrogation machines at this moment."

"You disgust me," replied the Lesser. "They had no strength. They were no threat. Yet you trampled their cities and torture their leaders?"

"We offered them a choice," replied the Elder, condescendingly. "Annihilation or subjugation. They chose wisely. We shipped in supplies from Apotos. You should have seen them, brother. They were rejoicing in the streets. They worship our robots. Shamar is far better off than they've ever been."

"For how long?" the Lesser snapped. "Until you've stripped the world of its resources? Until every last Mobian has died of sickness and starvation? This war is madness. It must end while there is still civilization left to rebuild."

"We are not fools," the Elder said coldly. "We spare farmland and orchards. We are appointing serfs to care for them. Our army may be mechanical, but we don't wish to starve at the end."

"Madness," the Lesser repeated. "I only pray that you see that before it's too late."

The Elder laughed.


	2. Chapter 2: Wispons

Artemis was assigned a bunk in the barracks. She gravitated to it as the one tiny space of her own. She ate and slept there, curled in a ball.

The base they were in was entirely underground, far up in the mountains in the eastern part of Spagonia. It had once been a secret military outpost, but had opened its doors to the resistance when the war encroached upon them. Spagonia's military came and went via helicopter from the other side of the mountain, where a helipad was concealed.

Artemis lay on her bunk and listened. People came to the barracks at all times of the day and night to sleep, and there was always someone snoring somewhere. In between, she caught snatches of conversation that told her more than she wanted to know.

"... Willow Springs is a total loss ..."

"... moving on the capital, Soleanna ..."

"Eggman's latest ultimatum, they're thinking of taking it ..."

"... evacuating fifty thousand more refugees, they're fleeing across the border ..."

"Babylon airship on standby for when we have to evacuate, too ..."

Artemis cried when she was alone. Her family was gone. Her pack was gone. Her city was gone, her country shattered. Everything that had given her identity, as a person, as a pack member, as a citizen, were gone. She was adrift in the universe, Artemis of no pack, Artemis of nowhere and nothing.

Why was Infinite called Infinite? The glowing-red jackal haunted her dreams. Always he sneered and laughed at her as she relived the deaths of her friends and family. Infinite power. Infinite destruction.

She was lying on her bunk, facing the wall, three days later, when footsteps approached. "Hey," a voice said.

Artemis looked over her shoulder. The white hedgehog, Silver, stood there. He looked concerned. "Want to talk?"

Loneliness was as painful as grief. Artemis sat up and nodded, trying to hold back tears. Somebody wanted to talk? She needed a friend so badly right now. It didn't matter that they weren't her pack.

Silver was strange-looking. A shock of white spines stuck up from his forehead like a cockatoo's crest. He had only two long spines protruding from the back of his head, and the rest of his body was covered in thick, silky fur, especially a ruff around his neck. His gloves were interwoven with a strange blue wire that glowed sometimes, and his blue boots had the same wire.

He sat on an empty cot beside hers, clasping his hands in his lap. "Did any of your people escape?"

She shook her head. "They all died. I saw them."

Silver bowed his head. "I'm sorry."

Artemis pulled her tail into her lap and twisted her fingers in the fur. "I should have died, too. I'm only alive because I ran away. It's so stupid."

"Don't talk like that," Silver said with surprising fierceness. "You don't know the importance you may have in time to come. I'm from four hundred years in the future. I know this stuff."

Artemis blinked at him, his strange white fur and crest. "You're from the future? How is that possible?"

"A very particular sort of chaos control," Silver replied. "It seriously taxes me and I can't do it often. I came back because the temporal ripples from this time were affecting my time. Things are happening that shouldn't be. Solaris himself sent me here to stop it."

"Solaris?" Artemis said slowly. "You mean ... the god we worship during the Soleanna festivals? The flame?"

Silver nodded. "The god of time."

Artemis accepted this without too much thought. It was no more difficult to believe than Eggman's army marching across the land, destroying her home and country. The impossible had happened, and kept on happening. Why not have white hedgehogs from the future who had been sent by a god? Of course. Naturally.

Artemis looked down. "So, why are you talking to me? I'm nobody. I can't change time."

"You've been camped in the barracks for three days," Silver said gently.

"They said to wait for a transport," Artemis said. "I've been waiting. Nobody has told me anything else."

"You could have asked someone," Silver pointed out. "As it is, the war has moved so far beyond us that we're going to evacuate tomorrow. You'll have to go with us on the airship."

An airship! Artemis's heart leaped. She'd always longed to ride on an airship, particularly the great bird-like ones of the Babylon avians. She smiled for the first time, ears lifting. "Where are we going?"

"The Acorn Kingdom," Silver replied. "Their princess has opened her doors to us. Spagonia was her ally, and she's terrified. I think everyone is."

Artemis had studied the Acorn Kingdom in school: the old-growth forests, the highest mountains on Mobius, the ancient cities with their histories. Going there seemed like a fabulous vacation. She opened her mouth to say that she'd need permission to go ... then closed it again. There was nobody left to give permission. If she wanted to go, she could, and she had no idea if it was a good choice or not.

"Look," Silver said with a sigh, "I know you're alone. But wolves need packs, right? Don't they go off the deep end without one?"

"No!" Artemis said indignantly. "Even lone wolves retain their dignity."

Silver squinted at her. "Did your pack tell you that?"

Artemis stared at the wall.

"Wolves need packs," Silver repeated. "I know we're not wolves, but we can be your friends. Why not join the resistance?"

It was like he had invited her to an exclusive party. Life flooded Artemis for the first time in days. "Join you? But ... but I'm not a soldier. I can't fight."

"We'll train you," Silver said. "GUN supplied us with wispons. They don't work like conventional weapons. You actually have to make friends with your gun."

"Make friends with a gun." Artemis couldn't hold back a laugh. "That's crazy."

"Not once you see them," Silver said. "Come on, we need to pack up. I'll introduce you to the wisps and you can help us move headquarters."

* * *

The wisps were like multicolored squids the length of Artemis's hand. They floated in the air and darted around, chasing each other. Many of them ducked in and out of a strange assortment of weapons lying on a nearby table.

"Oh! I've seen these on TV," Artemis exclaimed. She extended her fingers to a blue one. It flicked away from her. "They came from the asteroid belt, didn't they?"

Silver shrugged. "Apparently. They have a power called hyper-go-on. When combined with the Mobian chaos field, it does all kinds of crazy things. Watch this." He picked up a long, pipe-like gun. An orange wisp dove into a slot on the top. Silver aimed it at a blackened target on the wall and squeezed the trigger. A plume of red flame billowed out and scorched the target. Artemis jumped and fled to the door.

Silver returned the wispon to the table, grinning. The wisp flashed out of the gun and flew around his head.

"Wispons," he said. "They combine their power with yours. Try them out on the target."

Artemis looked at the haze hanging in the air. "But they're so dangerous."

"Yeah, they're _weapons_ ," Silver replied. "You destroy robots with them. Pick up one and imagine that target is a robot."

Artemis slowly reached for a rounded gun-thing with a lightning bolt on it. While robots were scary, what leaped to mind was Infinite: his expressionless mask, his sneering voice, his red glow.

A yellow wisp settled into her weapon and blinked at her. Artemis smiled briefly at it, then pulled the trigger. A bolt of lightning crackled from the wispon and burned a black spot on the target.

 _Take that, Infinite._

Silver clapped. "Good! Try the others!"

As Artemis reached for a purple weapon, Knuckles stepped in. She jumped. The commander, alpha of the resistance! She hurriedly bowed, as was proper.

"Hey rookie, don't do that," the red echidna said. "Training her, Silver?"

The white hedgehog nodded. "I invited her to join us, like you said."

Knuckles had sent Silver? The commander, himself, had cared about her? Artemis faced the target to hide the tears that sprang to her eyes. She'd thought she'd never have another pack leader, let alone one who cared.

The purple gun fired a rain of violet meteors, and set a bunch of stone-like energy blocks swirling around her like a shield. She tried not to listen to Silver's murmured report on her, but he was only a few feet away.

"Poor kid is wrecked, got nowhere to go. Jumped at the chance to join up. No fighting skills, but we can train her."

"She survived," Knuckles replied in an undertone. "I want survivors who know when to run. Sonic didn't know he was outclassed until it was too late. I don't want that happening again."

Sonic? Artemis turned and gazed at them, ears pricked. Sonic the hedgehog was the hero who had kept Eggman's megalomania occupied, mostly holding him within his territory around the Mount Majara volcano. But Sonic had disappeared months ago, and Eggman's forces were spreading, unchecked.

"What happened to Sonic?" she asked.

Knuckles and Silver gazed at her in silence. Knuckles opened his mouth, as if about to answer, then abruptly turned away. "You tell her." He walked off without another word.

Artemis watched the echidna stalk away. "Did I make him mad?"

"No," Silver said quietly. "He still can't bring himself to talk about it. Six months ago, Sonic went to investigate an incursion of Eggman's forces into Green Hill. But he met a team of people he didn't expect. Among them was this elusive Infinite. What should have been routine combat went unexpectedly sour. Infinite battled Sonic to the ground. The only witness was Tails the fox, who escaped. But he didn't know if Sonic was dead or alive, only that Eggman retrieved the body. There's been no mention of Sonic in any of Eggman's computers. Our spies had found nothing. We assume he's dead."

This was an awful shock. Artemis set down the weapon she was holding with too much care. Sonic had been the symbol of freedom across all Mobius, with his carefree attitude and super speed. Even countries that disagreed with his politics welcomed him when Eggman's robots ran amuck in their territory.

Sonic was dead?

It was like all hope had died, too. Eggman and Sonic had grown powerful, battling each other. But with Sonic gone, all that pent-up strength was unleashed against Mobius.

It was Infinite's fault. Infinite had killed Sonic. He had destroyed her home and family. A fire flared to life in Artemis's heart. She picked up a random gun and fired it at the target, imagining Infinite's pointed face.

"Wait," Silver began.

It wasn't a wispon. The thing she had grabbed fired a compound hook on a cable. It embedded itself in the target and reeled in its cable so powerfully that it ripped the gun from Artemis's fingers. She yelped.

"That's a grappling hook," Silver finished lamely.

The young wolf nursed her bruised fingers. Her yellow eyes locked on Silver's. "I want to fight. For Sonic."

The white hedgehog grinned a little. "All right. I'll train you. For now, we need to load the airship."

* * *

In the ruins of Willow Springs, a young fox knelt beside a wrecked robot. It was one of Eggman's old designs, the last of the E-series, built like a barrel with armor and clawed limbs. Once, it had fought alongside Shadow and Rouge. But now it sat motionless, unresponsive to Tails's mechanical coaxing.

"I'm sorry, Omega," Tails told the robot, patting its head. "Your battery has a charge. Your diagnostics check out. I don't know who bricked you, but they did a good job." He climbed to his feet and laid his tools back in a small box. Nearby, a three-wheeled motorcycle waited for him, slung with various scuffed bags and boxes. Tails had been on his own for half a year, wandering, camping out, hiding from Eggman's armies, grieving his best friend.

He'd happened across Omega's signal the day before. The robot's hardware emitted a distress beacon that Tails's bike picked up. But he couldn't fix Omega-the robot was locked in some strange transmission mode that Tails couldn't break. Perhaps the robot had tried to fight Eggman and gotten jammed somehow.

As the fox carried his toolbox back to his bike, a puddle of water seeped out of a storm drain nearby. Tails saw it and pulled out a wrench. "Oh Sonic," he whispered, "I wish you were here."

The puddle of water heaped itself upward, flowing and swirling into the alien figure of Chaos Zero, a water elemental that fed upon the legendary chaos emeralds. Tails had encountered it several years earlier, along with Sonic. They had defeated the monster together. But now, Chaos was back, and unfriendly as ever, it seemed.

Tails flung the wrench, aiming for the monster's vulnerable head. Chaos caught the wrench in one watery claw and flung it back. Tails ducked. The wrench struck the front fender of his motorcycle hard enough to dent it.

"Somebody help!" Tails yelled, backing away from the monster and groping for the fallen wrench.

The air in the middle of the street shimmered. Reality folded in on itself, breaking into cubes, revealing a hole into nothing. Out of this hole sprang a blue hedgehog.

He curled into a spiky ball and shot at Chaos like a bullet. He struck Chaos from behind, dealing a blow to the brain. Chaos collapsed into a puddle once more and flowed down the storm drain.

"Sonic!" Tails shrieked. He flung his arms around the blue hedgehog. "You're alive!"

"Take it easy, little bro," Sonic exclaimed, staggering sideways. "When did you get so tall?"

Sonic's voice was higher, scratchier. Tails let go and stepped back, staring. This was a younger Sonic, a few inches shorter, his quills a lighter blue. He was probably about sixteen.

"Sonic?" Tails said doubtfully. "Where did you come from?"

The blue hedgehog was staring at the buildings around them. Their windows were broken, the roofs blackened from recent fires. "This looks like someplace in Spagonia," Sonic muttered. "But that can't be. And you ... Tails, you're so tall! How old are you?"

"Seventeen," Tails replied.

Sonic blinked, several times. "But that's not right. You're eight."

"Did you ... time travel?" Tails ventured. "About nine years into the future?"

Sonic scratched his head, a familiar gesture that Tails had missed so much. "Well, I ... it's kind of hard to explain. I was tracking that stupid ruby, and it dragged me here. Did you see it?" He scanned the ground around their feet.

"Ruby?" Tails said, completely lost. "You mean the red chaos emerald?"

"No," young Sonic said, "the phantom ruby. If this is the future, you've got to remember it. The Hard-Boiled Heavies? Complete maniacs?"

Tails had never heard of this in his life. His confusion must have showed on his face.

Sonic frowned. "Okay, then, it wasn't straight time travel. Maybe this is an alternate dimension." He smacked a fist into his palm. "I knew it! That stupid ruby altered reality every which way! You may not even be real. Tails, are you real?" He poked Tails's chest fur.

"Ouch," Tails said, grinning. "You feel real to me. So you're from another dimension _and_ nine years in the past."

"Yeah, weird," young Sonic said with a grin. "We're about the same age now."

Tails grinned back, a hot pain welling up inside him. He'd missed Sonic so much, and even if this wasn't exactly the right Sonic, seeing him again felt like precious, borrowed time.

Sonic walked in a circle, gazing at the rubble around them, searching for his ruby. "It's not here," he muttered. "I was two inches from it when the portal opened."

"Maybe it landed in a different time and place," Tails suggested, trying to steady his voice. "I called for help and you came here."

"I heard you," Sonic mused. "I did try to change directions. Maybe that did it."

Something boomed in the distance. The muted noise of it rolled over them, vibrating the pavement underfoot.

Sonic jumped. "What was that?"

"Hop on my bike," Tails said, running to his motorcycle. "I'll explain as we go."

Sonic gave it a scornful look. "What's this do, about sixty?"

Tails grinned and blinked away the tears that suddenly stung his eyes. "Just ride so we can talk. You can run later."

Sonic climbed on the seat behind Tails. "All right, little bro. If you can fly a biplane, you can drive a bike."

Tails gave a laugh that was half a sob and started the engine.


	3. Chapter 3: Sonic is alive

Artemis dozed in a seat in the airship Sunset, her head resting in one hand.

She wasn't supposed to be sleeping. Her chair was bolted to the floor in a room on the top deck, facing an open observation room. Little round windows looked out into darkness. Silver occupied the middle of the floor, hands outstretched, exercising his telekinesis. He had three pebbles that he spun around his fists, or around his body, in complex overlapping orbits.

Artemis was supposed to be watching. But she had spent the entire day loading boxes and equipment into the Sunset, and as soon as she had secured a comfortable seat, sleep tried to drag her away. She'd worked so hard that she was too tired to think about sad things. The hum and vibration of the airship's engines soothed her.

Silver executed a particularly complex maneuver, collecting the three stones into a single mass and sending them spiraling around him, separating at the floor and returning to his hands. He looked at Artemis, saw her nodding off, and sighed. "We can't train if you're asleep, Artemis."

The wolf jerked awake at the mention of her name. "Sorry, sorry." She wearily climbed to her feet, regretting leaving her warm chair. She took up a wobbly fighting stance and tried to blink the haze from her eyes.

Silver raised both hands, but before they could begin sparring, Knuckles's voice spoke over the loudspeaker. "All officers report to the bridge immediately."

Artemis dropped her stance. "Are we being attacked?"

"I don't know. Come on." Silver ran for the door.

Artemis hurried after him. "But I'm not an officer!"

"I'm responsible for you right now," Silver said, "and I'm telling you to come with me."

Being bossed around was so comfortably like being in her home pack that Artemis followed him without protest.

The airship was designed like a great bird with outstretched wings. Each wing had three hover engines like giant fans. The airship's body had two long decks, upper and lower. The bridge occupied the craft's nose, just above an eagle-shaped figurehead.

Silver led Artemis out of the sparring room and down a long, narrow hall that divided the top deck. Other Mobians joined them-a crocodile whose rough tail accidentally slapped Artemis in the knees, a bee, and several colorful birds. They all arrived on the bridge, panting.

The bridge was a fair-sized room that doubled as both a cockpit and command center. Two bird Mobians occupied the pilot and copilot seats, wearing headphones and watching their red-lit instruments. Behind them was a table, also bolted to the floor. Knuckles had covered it with maps. He wore an aviator's headset, and pressed a hand to one ear as if listening to a report. He wore a grim expression, and beckoned to them as they entered.

Artemis found herself standing beside Amy. The pink hedgehog looked as tired as Artemis felt, pale and strained.

Knuckles pulled off the headset and let it hang around his neck. "I have good news and bad news."

Everyone waited in suspense. Artemis glanced anxiously out the windows, but there was no sign of attack.

Knuckles spoke in a low, clear voice. "Sonic is alive."

There was dead silence for a second. Then the room erupted into shouts, cheers, exclamations. Amy screamed and clapped both hands to her mouth. Artemis gasped and beamed.

"He's been in prison on the Death Egg for six months," Knuckles said. "Under a code name. That's why we couldn't find him." He drew a deep breath. "The bad news is that Eggman has been torturing him the whole time."

The cheers died away. Artemis clasped her hands together. Tortured! Would their legendary hero be in any condition to fight once they rescued him?

As if this wasn't enough of a bombshell, Knuckles added, "And he's scheduled for termination next week."

Everyone murmured angrily.

"We are going to rescue him, right?" Artemis blurted.

Knuckles's serious expression gave way to a savage grin. "You bet we are. Who's up for an old-fashioned jailbreak?"

The group cheered and crowded around the map table. Amy wiped her eyes over and over, sniffing, trying to compose herself.

"Are you okay?" Artemis whispered.

Amy gave her a bright smile. "I'm fine, now."

Artemis joined the others around the table. She peered over people's shoulders, too respectful of the leaders around her to push any closer.

"Right," Knuckles said. "Eggman's occupied the Auster Islands for years. He's got the Chemical Plant over here, where he manufactures robot parts. And over here is Launch Base, where his shuttles to the Death Egg take off."

"We should mail him a nuke," the crocodile muttered. "First class."

"Now, Vector," Knuckles said, "Eggman would hit us back, and we don't want this war to escalate like that. We want there to still be life left on the planet."

Vector chuckled darkly.

The echidna returned his attention to the maps. "I've got our hacker network breaking into Eggman's systems at Launch Base. Once they're in, we'll hijack a shuttle to Death Egg. A small team will infiltrate the prison wing, free Sonic, and get out."

"What about other targets?" suggested a green hawk who Artemis hadn't met. "All the leadership of Apotos and Shamar are up there."

Knuckles gazed at the maps and sighed. "Good point, Jet. What do you all think?"

A heated discussion followed. If they tried to rescue all the prisoners, they'd have to hijack additional shuttles to return home, and the mission would grow exponentially harder. It would be hard enough rescuing Sonic, especially since they didn't know what condition he'd be in.

Artemis listened, mutely thankful that it wasn't her decision to make. There was no good answer-rescuing one verses rescuing all, and potentially being captured and executed. Knuckles looked more and more tired, leaning against the table with his shoulders hunched. As the commander, he had the final say, and it weighed on him visibly.

Finally he raised a hand for silence. "We'll rescue only Sonic. But we'll return for the other prisoners later."

Everyone muttered agreement.

"Now," Knuckles said, "about that strike team. I need three volunteers."

Artemis's hand shot up. She looked at it in surprise.

Knuckles nodded. "Artemis volunteers. Who else?"

"I'll lead," said Vector the crocodile. "Wave, can you fly a shuttle?"

A graceful pink bird nodded her head. "I've trained on space flight simulators. I'll get us there."

"Great," Knuckles said. "Silver, make sure Artemis is capable of handling live combat. She goes nowhere until you clear her."

"Right, boss," Silver replied.

Knuckles clapped his hands. "For now, everybody get some rest. It's been a long day and we need our strength."

The meeting dispersed, everyone departing in twos and threes, talking excitedly about rescuing Sonic.

Knuckles caught Artemis before she reached the door. "A quick word, rookie."

She followed him aside. He'd also stopped Vector and Wave, who waited by the map table.

"You've been with us for two days," Knuckles said in a low voice. "What makes you think you can survive a mission like this?"

They all stared at her. Artemis shrank together, unsure of the reason for the scrutiny. "I want to help. Sonic ... I mean ... without him, we have no hope. I need hope again."

Knuckles nodded slowly, exchanging glances with the crocodile and swallow. "You could also be a spy from Eggman."

"What!" Artemis blinked. "You think I'm a spy?"

Knuckles shrugged. "New kid, no way to verify your identity. Suddenly volunteering to go to _the freaking Death Egg_. Do you even understand what you're offering to do?"

A dreadful cold doubt filled Artemis. She had a vague idea that the Death Egg was a really big space station. She shook her head.

"I think she's just inexperienced, Boss," Vector said. "Look at her. She has no clue."

"Wave?" Knuckles said.

The bird gazed at Artemis for a long moment in silence. Artemis wanted to shrink away from her penetrating blue eyes. They seemed to see straight into her soul, and it made her feel foolish and inadequate.

"If she is a spy," Wave said slowly, "she's a poorly trained one. No defenses at all. The last spy was at least competent at this sort of interrogation."

Artemis had no idea what she was talking about.

Knuckles shook a finger at the wolf. "Fine. You're probably not a spy. But you're also green. The only way you'll survive is if you follow Vector's orders. Instant obedience. No questions. Understand?"

Artemis nodded. "Just like a pack leader on a hunt." Inside, she shivered. Could she obey any order, even if it seemed strange or insane?

Knuckles nodded once. "Work on your training. You won't go until Silver says you're ready, and we don't have much time. They'll be kicking Sonic out an airlock in four days."

Vector and Wave made growling sounds. Artemis was too horrified to say anything.

* * *

"Spagonia is ours," said the Elder. "Forests for the fires. Mines for the metals. Crystal for the optics. It's a wonderful land."

"Is that all you see?" spat the Lesser. "Spagonia was an ancient culture, filled with history and wisdom. And you've destroyed it and exiled its people."

"Pish," said the Elder. "You think too highly of people, brother. They're one more resource to be consumed."

"Consumed!" exclaimed the Lesser. "They are irreplaceable! Without them, there is no way to develop the resources you value so highly. It takes skill and intelligence to mine and farm."

"That's what robots are for," the Elder replied. "Robots obey orders. They work twenty-four hours a day. No complaint about hours. All they require is a little fuel and maintenance, which other robots provide."

"You sound like Eggman," muttered the Lesser. "You've adopted his insanity."

"Wisdom appears foolish to the fool," the Elder replied. "And you, brother, are a sentimental fool."

* * *

Sonic lay on the floor at the back corner of his prison cell, as far from the door as he could get. His hands and feet were shackled together with some kind of magnetic force, keeping his limbs from moving freely without the impediment of chains.

His blue spines were grimy. Dust and tear-stains streaked his muzzle. His ribs showed under his blue fur, and he started at the slightest sound.

The solitary confinement cell was usually quiet as a grave. But when he laid his head on the concrete floor, Sonic heard things. Footsteps echoing through the floor. The clank of robots. Voices murmuring. And for the last several hours, commotion and rapid movement.

He didn't let himself hope for a rescue. He'd clung to hope for endless days and nights, through countless interrogations, through hours on a treadmill surrounded by electrified wires that shocked him if he slowed. He'd hoped and hoped until they held him under water and drowned him multiple times, dragging him back from the brink of death to question him about leaders, countries, secrets, secrets, secrets.

Eggman had wrung every last scrap of information out of him. Now Sonic was to be thrown away like so much garbage, dropped out an airlock and left to simultaneously suffocate and decompress in the pitiless vacuum of space.

He had no more hope. His friends had abandoned him. Or, more likely, Eggman had used Sonic's information to hunt them down and kill them one by one. The horror of this - _I've betrayed everyone I know_ \- made him almost glad for his upcoming execution. He wouldn't have to see their faces if they were alive, or their graves if they were dead.

Still, the chaos happening outside the cell block kindled a tiny flicker of hope within him that he didn't know if he wanted. Something was happening, and it wasn't the regimented schedule that drove every footstep within the Death Egg. This was happy disruption, unpredictable, noisy. Maybe it was Tails and Knuckles, come to spring his bail.

So when Zavok looked in the window on the cell door, it was an unwelcome shock.

Zavok was from a parallel world and didn't look vaguely Mobian. To Sonic, he looked like a demon, with his black horns and red skin. After Eggman left to oversee the war, Zavok had taken up Sonic's interrogation, inviting Eggman to watch via remote video for the interesting parts. Namely, the point when Sonic, beaten and suffering, told them whatever they asked.

Now Zavok unlocked the door and slid it open, leering at Sonic. "Time to say goodbye, hedgehog."

Sonic scrambled to his feet, spines bristling. Desperation gripped him. He had to fight, to escape somehow. He crouched, snarling like a caged animal.

"Oh, what're you going to do, bite me?" sneered Zavok. "You're no match for me, needle mouse. I'm not weak."

Sonic pulled against the invisible force connecting his shackles, trying to spread his feet for better support. His tired, starved muscles strained.

Zavok strode toward him, claws opening and closing.

Sonic dropped to all fours, preparing a desperate spin dash that might break his legs. At that second, the force field on the bindings died. It went with a snap like a rope breaking, and his limbs came unbound for the first time in months.

Sonic hurled himself into a spin dash and tore into Zavok's chest.

Sonic had a few personal rules. One of them was to never use a spin dash on a living being. His sharp spines, which chewed through metal like a lawnmower through grass, sliced through flesh like paper. It was a sign of how low he had fallen, and how desperate he was, that he attacked Zavok with full knowledge of what he was about to do.

But instead of blood, what tore out of Zavok was millions of red cubes. They flew into the air and disappeared. Zavok roared.

Sonic tore straight through the zeti's body and hit the wall on the other side. Zavok's body evaporated into more and more cubes, color and form fading away. As it did, a ringing, electronic resonance filled Sonic's head, hurting his brain, making his eyes ache. He'd experienced it when Eggman and his strange team had beaten Sonic in the first place. He winced and covered his ears, but the sound was inside his head.

The sound ended. Zavok was gone and the cell door stood open. Sonic ran - out of the cell block, out of the prison wing, running as he had been forced to run on the treadmill for so many months. But now he was free - gloriously free, able to run where he wanted without fear of the electrified cage. He laughed a crazed, shrieking laugh and destroyed a group of robots for the sheer pleasure of it.

The robots had been gathered around something. As Sonic punched through them, he realized there was a Mobian wolf in their midst. The robots had been attaching binders to her wrists, and now she gazed at Sonic with a joyful expression.

"Hey there, kid," Sonic said, helping her up. The half-attached bindings clattered to the floor. "Nice to see a friendly face."

"I'm Artemis," the wolf panted. "We're here to rescue you."

"Rescue me!" Sonic exclaimed. An extraordinary mixture of feelings rushed through him - anger that it hadn't happened sooner, sick relief that he had escaped his cell when he did, guilt about attacking Zavok. And joy - pure, overwhelming joy. A lump formed in his throat. "Well ... let's get on with it."

"This way." Artemis led him down the corridor, back in the direction of the shuttle bay. She wore body armor that covered most of her magenta fur, and pressed a hand to her headset. "I found Sonic, repeat, I found Sonic."

"Great!" Knuckles's voice rang through the speaker loud enough for Sonic to hear. "Glad he's alive, although if you guys don't get to that shuttle, he won't be for long."

"Gee, Knux," Sonic said into Artemis's mic, "your confidence is overwhelming."

Hearing his friend's voice again, after so much time alone, sent an adrenaline thrill through his body. Sonic ran and jumped and laughed like a mad man. Robots swarmed into their path, and Sonic trashed them all, ignoring Artemis and the strange gun in her hand.

They reached the shuttle bay. It was a cavernous airport-like place in the underbelly of the Death Egg. It was filled with orderly rows of shuttles, each shaped like an oblong box with a rocket on the end. One side of the room was for inbound shuttles, and robots were busy unloading piles of crates. The other side was for outgoing, where empty shuttles returned to Mobius. The whole spaceport was shielded from space by a powerful force field that glowed in a double blue screen across the airlock passage.

Sonic didn't look at it. That's where Zavok would have taken him.

Artemis laid a hand on his arm, pressing a finger to her lips. "There's one route that the security cameras can't see. Follow me." Her hand was shaking. He looked into her eyes and realized she was barely older than a cub.

Sonic sobered a little as he followed her on a winding course between crates and the wall. He may be operating on a delirious freedom high, but this young freedom fighter was on a life-or-death mission. His carelessness could cost his friends their lives.

If he hadn't done that already by spilling his guts during interrogation.

Artemis led him to the far corner of the spaceport. Behind an extra-high pile of crates, they found Vector the crocodile and Wave the swallow. Vector was tapping on a tablet computer, while Wave was looking out for them anxiously. Both of them beamed as Artemis and Sonic reached them.

"You made it!" Vector whispered. "Excellent to see you, Sonic!"

Sonic shook hands vigorously. "You don't even know!"

"Our spy will rendezvous in five," Vector whispered. "Everybody, board the shuttle."

The nearest shuttle was mounted on a set of robotic arms, ready to launch. Sonic leaped through its open door, followed by Artemis, Vector, and Wave. As they strapped into the benches along the walls, Espio the chameleon scrambled through the door, his body shimmering as his active camouflage faded away.

"The systems are down," Espio said, closing the door and spinning the lock bar. "Nobody knows Sonic is gone, but that won't last." The purple chameleon glared at the hedgehog. "Then you go break stuff and try to attract attention!"

"It was payback," Sonic snarled. "You don't know what they did to me."

He looked so wild, his eyes a vivid, poison green, and his spines nearly standing on end, that Espio backed down. "You're right," he said, holding up both hands. "We don't. But we will."

Wave had gone to the front of the shuttle, where she was overriding the autopilot. "Buckle up back there. Once the systems come back, we're gone." The shuttle's engines rumbled to life.

"Do you guys have anything to eat?" Sonic asked.

Vector dug into a vest pocket. "That might not be a good idea. Re-entry is a beast." He produced an energy bar.

Sonic snatched it and tore off the wrapper. "I can handle it." The bar's crunchy, honey-flavored salt was the best thing he'd ever eaten. Starvation had been part of the breaking process: days on the treadmill with no food, then food offered only if he answered questions. Sonic's high-speed metabolism had been used against him. It had been a long, dark tunnel of weariness and pain, weighing his loyalty to his friends against his desire for the pain to stop.

As the shuttle lifted off, Sonic yelled over the engine noise, "Why'd it take so long for the rescue?"

"Couldn't find you!" Vector yelled back. "Thought you were dead!"

That explained a lot. Vector handed him another energy bar. Sonic devoured it. "What's Eggman been up to?" He was almost afraid to ask.

"He destroyed Apotos," Espio replied above the engine noise. "Shamar surrendered. He's working on Spagonia right now."

Each word was like a punch to Sonic's face. Apotos? Memories of the elegant marble buildings under their arbors of orange trees flashed through his mind. Destroyed? And Shamar - those proud, haughty desert-dwellers in their stone fortresses? Surrender?

Worse than the news was the knowledge of what he had said during interrogation.

 _"Apotos has five rulers," he had sobbed, struggling to breathe after the violence and terror of water boarding. "They hide their families in the Lake District so nobody can gain leverage against them. The Prime Minister has a daughter ..."_

They had been friends. Sonic had eaten dinner with them, welcomed and honored after driving Eggman out of their island. And now - dead. Captured. Gone.

And Shamar - the proud jackals, eagles and crocodiles who lived there, who treated him with suspicion until he revealed Metal Sonic in their midst, spying from behind a cloaking device. Even then, they hadn't been very fond of Sonic. What must have happened for them to surrender to Eggman?

And now Spagonia. He'd lived there at one point. Beautiful Spagonia, with its rivers and forests, the ancient towns, restored and kept so carefully. He'd raced Tails through the hilly streets, eaten vendor food during holidays, and watched the fireworks over Soleanna.

The shuttle jerked as it passed through the airlock. Sonic clung to the harness, staring at the wall. His companions watched him nervously, not knowing how dangerous he was.

The shuttle departed the Death Egg and began its journey to the blue planet below. The engines dropped to a low hum, conserving thrust for steering maneuvers.

"What about," Sonic began, then hesitated. "What about Tails?"

Vector, Espio, and Artemis exchanged a quick glance.

Sonic's heart did a quick orbit of his ribcage before dropping into his stomach. "He's still alive, isn't he?"

Tails had to be alive. Now that Sonic was free, he needed his friends - needed their support, needed them to help him heal. He couldn't face their deaths. Not now.

Vector nodded. "He's alive."

Sonic sagged into his harness with relief. The panic faded a little.

"He ran away, though," Vector continued. "He's out on his own somewhere. Losing you messed him up bad."

Sonic's eyes burned. He pressed both hands to his eyes and held them there, holding back the tears that threatened to overflow. Tails had run away. His little brother, his best friend, overwhelmed by grief.

"I'll find him," Sonic murmured. "I'll tell him I'm sorry."

Everyone sat in silence as Sonic struggled to control himself. After a while he looked up, his eyes bloodshot. He forced a smile. "What's Knux up to?"

"Leader of the resistance," Espio said. "He never let us stop looking for you."

This steadfast loyalty from his other best friend, the glimpse of the dogged determination that drove the echidna, brought more tears to Sonic's eyes. He laughed, then pressed his face into his hands and cried.

Vector, Espio, and Artemis looked the other way.


	4. Chapter 4: Many bad options

"We should have killed him months ago," said the Elder. "Pathetic excuse for a hedgehog. You should have seen him cry when we broke him the first time."

"You make me sick," muttered the Lesser. "He was Mobius's hero."

"I know," the Elder said smugly. "That's why it was important to crush him, to ruin his resolve and his courage. He may have escaped, but he's no threat to us with his spirit broken."

"Why must you destroy everything good?" said the Lesser. "Loyalty? Courage? Love? You've done nothing but try to crush those qualities out of his soul."

"Because when those are gone," replied the Elder, "all that remains is fear. And when your enemies fear you, you have triumphed."

* * *

Artemis couldn't bear to see this new Sonic, this hedgehog who switched from angry to laughing to crying within a few minutes. She didn't know him, but she was pretty sure he didn't normally act that way. Judging by the faces of her companions, she was right.

They landed the shuttle in a field on the border of the Acorn Kingdom at sunset, then walked two miles to a road, where a car picked them up. It was driven by a white bat named Rouge who spoke into a radio as they climbed into the seats. "All five accounted for, boss. We'll be there by midnight."

"Hey there, Rouge," Sonic said. "I hope there's a nice, soft bed waiting for me at the end of this. And a hot bath. And a chili dog. Or a bunch of chili dogs."

"And not necessarily in that order," Vector added.

The bat glanced in the rear view mirror. She was dressed entirely in black, and in the fading light, looked mysterious and shadowy. "You'll be taken care of for now, Sonic. But Eggman's armies are nearing the borders of the Acorn Kingdom, and everyone is terrified of that weapon of his."

"Who, Shadow?" Sonic said bitterly. "And Metal Sonic? And Chaos? And that creepy dude in the mask?"

"That wasn't Shadow," Rouge said. "Eggman has some way of making duplicates of people. The real Shadow has been helping the resistance effort."

"Shadow rescued me," Artemis added, then blushed at her boldness in actually speaking to superiors. Sonic looked at her and raised an eyebrow, so she added, "And Infinite killed my family."

Sonic frowned. "Infinite?"

"Creepy dude in the mask," Espio said. "He's leading some kind of army that appears and disappears. Like he's working a mass chaos control like we've never seen."

Sonic frowned at Espio and Artemis. Despite his condition, he had always taken a professional interest in anything relating to chaos power. "Did he have an emerald?"

Artemis described the red gem protruding from Infinite's chest. "It was kind of a skinny triangle, and it was this big. Aren't chaos emeralds smaller?"

"Yeah," Sonic said. He indicated a fist. "They're about this size. So, the Jackal in the Iron Mask has some other kind of chaos gem. Maybe Eggman made one. He's got the equipment to try it."

Wave the swallow shook her head. "I was part of the fighting in Willow Springs when the invasion began. I'm chaos sensitive, and I would have felt a mass chaos control. There wasn't one."

"Infinite glowed," Artemis added. "This weird oily red glow that flowed all over him."

"Huh." Sonic gazed out the window for a moment as the road carried them into a forest. "Okay, start over. Artemis, what did you see, exactly?"

They discussed every detail of Infinite and the losing battle for Spagonia. Sonic was very interested in the GUN soldiers in the upside-down uniforms. "That is bonkers! What does that mean? Were they traitors?"

The discussion lasted until midnight, when Rouge drove through Mobitropolis and into the military base on the outskirts. She showed her identification to a guard at the entry checkpoint, then drove them to the barracks.

"They're waiting for you inside," Rouge said. "You have a meeting with the princess tomorrow at nine AM."

Sonic winced. "And I get to confess how I screwed her over, too. Wonderful."

Artemis flinched on his behalf. She'd never imagined that the hero she'd seen saving people on TV would turn out to be a hurting, lonely hedgehog who concealed his scars behind jokes. If only she could help him somehow. But her own upbringing in a wolf pack, with its rigid caste rules, held her back like a chain. Sonic far outranked her. He'd been too distracted to notice that she had spoken to him without permission, but he might notice later. Even if hedgehogs didn't have packs, a military structure was similar, and he still outranked her in that way.

They entered the barracks, a low, broad building with concrete walls. Inside was an entry room with a hallway leading to the various rooms that soldiers used. Camped out in the entry room were Knuckles, Amy, Silver, and the rest of the resistance.

As Sonic entered, everyone leaped to their feet and cheered. Sonic was instantly surrounded by a welcoming crowd, having his back slapped, exchanging hugs, grinning, laughing, wiping away tears. Artemis stood against the wall, waiting for the reunion to die down. In this strange new place, she had no idea where she was supposed to stay. Besides, watching the joy of people she barely knew made her miss her friends and family with a sharp, desperate pang.

As people began to calm down, Knuckles said, "All right, everybody, bed. It's been a long day, and we've got another one tomorrow."

The group dispersed slowly, chattering. Sonic, Knuckles, and Silver withdrew into a corner, where they talked seriously in low voices.

Amy approached Artemis, Vector, Espio, and Wave. "The barracks are pretty full, but we'll find you beds. I hope you're okay with roommates."

The four were too tired to protest by this point. Amy led them down the hall, opened doors, and found rooms with free beds. Artemis took a room toward the far end of the building. Somebody's bag occupied one of the two beds, but the person wasn't there.

"Here you are," Amy said. "We'll sort out better sleeping arrangements tomorrow. Are you all right?" The hedgehog paused, gazing at the wolf searchingly.

Artemis nodded. If Sonic could put on a brave face, so could she. "I'm just tired. Re-entry wasn't fun."

"Right." Amy patted her shoulder. "Get some rest."

Artemis wearily pulled off her boots and body armor, curled up on the hard bed, and fell into a dreamless sleep.

When she awoke, late the next morning, the other bed was occupied by Honir, the jackal spy.

He lay on his back, his left arm, shoulder and side swathed in bandages. His black fur was clumped from sweat, and his white muzzle had streaks of dried blood across it. He seemed asleep, eyes closed, breathing deep and even, but when Artemis stirred, he opened his eyes.

"Honir!" Artemis exclaimed. It was delightful to see a familiar face from Willow Springs. "What are you doing here? What happened to you?"

"My cover was blown when I was down in Adabat. Eggman's forces tried to eliminate me, but I escaped across the border." He lifted his bandaged arm a little. "This was Metal Sonic's work."

Artemis gazed at the bandages, trying to make sense of this, trying to make sense of anything. Adabat was a jungle nation of rich land, long rivers, abundant crops, and casino cities. "Eggman is already in Adabat?"

"Spies," Honir replied. "Same as me."

If Eggman took Adabat, he would have conquered exactly half the world. It staggered Artemis. How was this possible? She couldn't grasp the magnitude of it.

"We rescued Sonic," she said, as consolation.

Honir smiled. "Good! Is he all right?"

"Mostly." Artemis hesitated. "He's kind of ... hurt. They tortured him."

Honir closed his eyes and sighed. "We'll see how quickly he can recover. The resistance needs him. Our allies are falling far too quickly."

* * *

Sonic slept badly that night. Every time he dozed off, he thought he saw Zavok's claws reaching for him, and jerked awake. When he did fall asleep, his dreams were about running, endlessly running from monsters that lurked at his heels. Eggman's laugh echoed in his mind. He woke himself up calling for Tails. He sat up, panting, staring around the tiny room. What cell was this? No, he wasn't in prison anymore.

Knuckles lay on the next bed, his pillow over his head. When Sonic sat up, Knuckles wearily tossed the pillow aside. "You have a nightmare every fifteen minutes."

"Sorry." Sonic sat on the edge of his bed. "What time is it?"

Knuckles checked a wristwatch. "Two thirty."

Sonic groaned and fell back on the pillow. "I've got to get more sleep than this. I get to tell Sally Acorn that I told Eggman the size of her armies and the ways the kingdom is most vulnerable."

Knuckles shut his eyes in a wince. "How much did you spill?"

"You don't want to know," Sonic said in a low voice.

Knuckles waited. After holding a leadership position for half a year, he'd learned a few things about people. Mostly, everybody hated long silences.

After the silence stretched into an uncomfortable minute, Sonic shifted on the cot. "I was in there six months, Knux. Know how long it took Eggman to break me?"

"Three months?" Knuckles guessed.

Sonic shook his head. "Four days."

Knuckles grimaced. "Four days?"

Sonic held up both hands in the shape of a box. "He had this electrified cage with a treadmill in it. I had to run on that treadmill. If I tried to get off, the wires fried me. He kept me on it for three days and nights. No food. No water."

Knuckles shook his head wordlessly.

"I collapsed," Sonic went on. "I was too weak to get off the wires. Eggman shut them down before it killed me. Then they took me to the water boarding room."

"What's that?" Knuckles asked, not sure he wanted to know.

Sonic shrugged with a bitter smile. "They tie your hands behind your back, put a bag over your head, and hold you under water. When they bring you up for air, they pour water on your face instead of letting you breathe. It sounds stupid, but it's the most terrifying ... terrifying." He stopped and stared at the wall, face going blank. After a moment he shook his head and looked at the ceiling. "I broke, Knux. I told him everything. About the resistance, and all my friends, about ... about everything. I'm the reason he's won."

"He hasn't won yet," Knuckles said. "Don't beat yourself up, Sonic. Everybody breaks."

"I'm the reason so many people are dead!" Sonic exploded. "Don't you get it? I failed! I should have lasted it out! Instead, I broke." He covered his face with both hands. "I betrayed you all."

"Sonic." Knuckles propped himself up on one elbow. "It was torture. He was going to get it out of you somehow. If anything, I'm the one who should apologize. We should have rescued you sooner."

"Why didn't you?" Sonic said, dropping his hands and giving him a cold stare. "I was counting on a rescue. I thought that you guys would bust me out, and we could change things before he could use what I told him. Six months, Knux."

"We thought you were dead," Knuckles said quietly. "Our spies found nothing. No record of you as a prisoner. No record of you in the labs. But we never stopped searching. Eggman has a new computer network that foiled us. Then Rouge got through and found out where you were. I'm sorry it took so long."

Sonic stared at his folded hands. "I'm sorry, too."

They sat there in silence for a long moment. Then Sonic said, "I'm going to try to get some sleep."

"Me too." Knuckles rolled to face the wall. Sonic curled up on his cot. But before Knuckles could doze, he heard Sonic crying very softly. It was the sound of desolation, and Knuckles hoped he never heard it again.

* * *

Tails and young Sonic had made it to the Spagonia border. Tails would have been frightened of Eggman's robot minions, but young Sonic laughed and destroyed them with quick spindashes.

"Nice to know that Robotnik's quality hasn't improved," young Sonic laughed. "These suckers are cheap."

They camped for the night in a pine wood far from any settlements where robots lurked. Tails built a tiny campfire in a hole in the ground, hoping to hide its light from unfriendly eyes.

"Let it burn," Sonic said, kicking back beside it. "If any robots show up, they have me to deal with. And if any people show up, we'll help them escape across the border, too."

Tails pulled out some sausages to roast on sticks. As he handed one to Sonic, he said, "What else do you know about this Phantom Ruby?"

Sonic toasted his sausage with the concentration of the famished. "Not much, really. The egg robos dug it up on Angel Island. Knux didn't know if it was something the ancients made, or if it fell out of the sky. All we know is that the robots had to dig a super deep hole to find it. Like ten feet."

"Hmm." Tails toasted his own sausage, his big ears swiveling as he listened to the night sounds. "And then you said the Ruby changed things?"

"Yeah," young Sonic said. "It lit up and made this awful noise. Then it kind of ... it didn't teleport us, but the world kind of phased away. When it came back, the egg robos were the Hard-boiled Heavies. They all had costumes and personalities. I laughed at them until they got mad. Then they used the Ruby on me, and ... I guess it was time travel? I went places. Places I hadn't been in years, and it was all changed in weird ways."

Tails cut up his sausage and piled it on crackers. "So it's like chaos control?"

Young Sonic tilted his head. "What's that?"

Tails grinned. "You must not have gotten to that in your time. Chaos control is a teleport you can do with a chaos emerald."

"Sounds like spoilers," Sonic said with a wink. "And nope, never heard of it, but it sounds awesome."

Tails grinned and crammed food in his mouth. Every so often, he forgot that this Sonic wasn't his Sonic, the one he'd had so many adventures with. He was so unafraid, cracking jokes, making fun of enemies as he defeated them, Tails almost thought he was back in the old days. Before Eggman got so strong. Before Sonic died. He began to wish, in a corner of his heart, that he could go back to this Sonic's dimension with him and leave the grief behind.

Young Sonic seemed to read his mind. "I've got a Tails at home," he said. "If I brought you along, he'd be nine kinds of jealous."

Tails knew he would be. He sighed. "Yeah. And Amy, too."

"Amy?" Young Sonic laughed. "Amy's a bratty little kid who follows me around. What's she like in this time?"

Tails pulled out a battered book of photos, flipped through many pictures of him and Sonic, and found some of Amy. Sonic used to pull these out and look at them when he thought Tails wasn't paying attention. They were nice shots of Amy in various outfits, nothing too remarkable, Tails thought.

Young Sonic's eyes bugged out. "Amy? This is Amy?"

"Yeah," Tails said quizzically. "She's really nice. I mean, I know she used to have crushes on Sonic-I mean you-but she's gotten better."

"I'd say she has!" Young Sonic exclaimed. He flipped back and forth through the photos, eating without noticing the food. "Man, if this is what she looks like in the future, then I think I'm going to start being nicer to her now."

Tails snickered. "She'll probably dump you."

Sonic snorted. "For who? I'm the coolest blue hedgehog there is."

Tails grinned and couldn't say much else for a while.

* * *

Princess Sally Acorn paced around the guest parlor in the castle, moving from window to window. Her mind was in turmoil, struggling to find a solution between many bad options. She ignored the expensive, velvet furniture and the antique tapestries on the walls. All of it was to impress important visitors and had little bearing on her tormented reality.

The door opened. An aide bowed and said, "Sonic the Hedgehog to see you, Princess."

"Show him in," Sally said, distractedly combing her fingers through her auburn forelock.

The hedgehog who entered was so changed, she struggled not to gape. Sonic's spines were a dull blue, his fur rough and patchy, and his ribs showed. Worse, his eyes had lost their sparkle. Now he looked tired and sad, as if he had seen so many awful things that it had aged him.

 _He just escaped prison_ , she reminded herself. _Of course it will take time for him to recover_.

Sally drew a deep breath and summoned a smile. "Sonic! Thanks for coming at such short notice." She gestured for the aide to leave him, who obeyed, closing the door.

Sonic bowed slightly. "Princess."

She beckoned, and he joined her beside the window.

"I don't have much time," she said in a low voice. "Eggman's forces have devastated Spagonia. Now he's moving his army to my borders. I know you just got back, but I need to know if military victory is possible."

Sonic gazed out the window in silence. It was a fine view of Mobitropolis's commercial district, with plenty of towers, trees, and busy traffic. After a moment he said, "He knows about the underground speed tunnels."

Sally closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. These were secret subway tunnels that operated independently of regular traffic. The military used them to move soldiers and hardware from place to place very quickly. Sonic only knew about them because he had rooted out a party of insurgents who had set up camp down there, using robots to harass citizens.

If Eggman knew about the tunnels, not only was the element of surprise gone, but Eggman might capture them and send his own units straight to the heart of the kingdom.

"I told him about them during interrogation," Sonic said without looking at her. "I'm sorry."

Anger flashed through her, and Sally bared her teeth for a moment. Sonic had betrayed her trust and probably cost her her country. "You had to tell him that?"

Sonic turned haunted eyes upon her. She glimpsed the days and weeks of horror he had experienced. "I tried not to."

Sally worked to regain control. Her nation's security was compromised. Very well, she had to face the next step. "So, do you think we could defeat Eggman in battle?"

Sonic returned to gazing out the window, arms folded. "He's got giant robots that destroy infrastructure like a kid knocking down blocks. And there's this other army that appears and disappears. Some kind of chaos control thing. A huge army, Sal. It chewed up most of Spagonia, and the robots came afterward and stomped everything."

Sally digested this for a moment. "So you don't think we could win."

He shook his head. "Eggman gloated about it every time he interrogated me. He has some kind of edge, or weapon. I'll find out what it is, but meanwhile, you can't beat him in a fight."

Sally clenched one fist against the stone windowsill. "He contacted me two days ago. He offered an ultimatum. I can fight him and be destroyed. Or I can surrender and accept occupation. He promised to preserve the people and cities, but he wants our resources, and the Acorn Kingdom would be put to forced labor."

Sonic gave her a long look. "Better than being dead."

Sally returned his look. "And I and my advisors would be sent to the Death Egg."

Sonic covered his eyes with one hand. He stood there a moment like that, and said, "Don't ask me for advice, Sal. I can't tell you what to do. There's no good option."

"I know," she said softly. She inhaled slowly. "I have to think of all the refugees coming from Spagonia and Apotos. I can't allow them to come here, only to die. If this is the price I must pay for the survival of my country, then I'll pay it."

Sonic turned and clasped her hand. "I'll make it right, Sal. If you go to that hellhole, you won't stay there. I promise."

She blinked at him through sudden tears. "I know you will. You've never let me down."

"Well, one time," Sonic said, his voice cracking. "But who's counting?"

"About that." Sally's voice dropped. "Eggman has a munitions factory just over my southern border, in Adabat. It's under a different name, of course, but my spies have confirmed that it's funded by Eggman's accounts." She faced Sonic directly. "I want you to burn it to the ground."

Sonic grinned for the first time-a toothy, vicious smile. "It'd be my pleasure."

Sally dismissed Sonic shortly afterward. She sat alone on a velvet footstool, wiping tears and composing herself. When she opened the door and summoned her aide, it was with a steady voice and a calm expression.

"Contact Eggman," she said. "I'm ready to open negotiations."


	5. Chapter 5: Equals

Two days later, the resistance fled the Acorn Kingdom for Adabat.

The airship Sunset led the way, providing air support for the convoy crawling along the road below. Princess Sally had sent along a great many supplies and weapons, since Eggman was going to disarm her people anyway. Many angry Mobians accompanied them to join the resistance, mostly military leaders and their families. The resistance was growing.

"I hate running," Shadow said, peering out a porthole window on the observation deck of the Sunset. "We should have stayed to fight."

"We're evacuating a lot of people Eggman would have killed," Knuckles pointed out. "I hate running, too. Now we have Sonic back, we can think offensively again."

Shadow growled. "I'm sick of defense. This is the last time I run from anything."

Sonic and Silver were sparring, fighting with fists and feet only. Knuckles sat nearby, studying a tablet computer. Amy sat beside him with another tablet, ostensibly helping Knuckles, but in reality simply watching Sonic. Artemis the wolf stood nearby, nervously awaiting her turn to spar.

Silver swept a foot behind Sonic's knee and topped him to the floor. That ended the spar, and Sonic sheepishly climbed to his feet. "You've gotten better, Silv."

"A little," Silver admitted. "I rely on my psychokinesis too much." He retreated to the chairs and sat down, giving Sonic the floor.

Sonic stretched and drew a deep breath. "Your turn, Shads."

The black hedgehog strode into the center of the room, his crimson eyes appraising his opponent. "You think you stand a chance against me? You're still emaciated." His gaze lingered on Sonic's too-thin chest, still streaked by fresh scars.

"I have to get strong again," Sonic said fiercely, lowering his head and clenching his fists. "I won't get back into fighting shape by sitting around, feeling sorry for myself. Give it your best shot."

Shadow gave a single laugh. "My best shot would kill you, hedgehog." He raised one fist.

To Artemis's bemused eyes, the fight was nothing but a blur that lasted three seconds. Sonic and Shadow moved too fast for the eye to follow, and it ended with Sonic sprawled on the floor.

Shadow grinned. "Told you."

Sonic climbed to his feet. "Again."

Shadow defeated Sonic four more times before Sonic called a rest. As the blue hedgehog retreated to a chair with a bottle of water, Shadow crossed his arms and watched him. "How do you think you're going to take down an arms factory in this condition?"

Sonic drained most of the bottle before answering. "I'll have to have support."

Knuckles looked up. "Darn right you will. Shadow, Silver, you're all on this mission, too. We'll hit Eggman where it hurts."

Shadow nodded with a grin. Then he beckoned to Artemis. "Your turn, greenhorn."

The magenta wolf stepped into the middle of the floor, trembling a little.

"Go easy on her, Shadow," Amy said.

Shadow looked Artemis in the eye. "Do you want me to go easy?"

Artemis gazed back. She was in a room full of heroes whose fighting skills and knowledge far outclassed her own. Merely being in the room with them was an honor, and training with them was terrifying.

"Sir," she replied, "a few weeks ago, the most important thing in my life was having my fur bleached."

Shadow threw his head back and laughed. "At least you're honest! All right. Easy does it."

Artemis worked her way through the different stances and forms that Silver had taught her. Shadow blocked her blows, but didn't deliver any. He corrected her stances and forms with surprising patience, wearing a small smirk the whole time.

She thought she was doing well, until Shadow flicked out one foot and upset her balance, sending her to the floor.

"You relaxed your guard," Shadow said, offering her a hand. "Never let your guard down. Take a rest."

Artemis retreated to a chair beside Sonic and grabbed her own water bottle from a flat sitting on the floor. Shadow took one, too, and returned to his post by the window.

"Hey," Sonic said to Artemis, "you did okay."

She gave him a brave smile. "I'm not very good."

"Nobody is at the beginning." Sonic patted her shoulder. "Even Shads was once a wimpy ball of red and black fluff."

"Once," Shadow said without turning. "Long ago."

"On an ARK far, far away," Sonic added. "So, Artemis. You had a pack, right?"

"The Gemstone pack," Artemis said, ears flattening. "I don't think any of them survived. We fought Eggman."

So few words, so much desolation. Her entire world had shattered, and summing it up that way seemed so glib.

Sonic saw the look, and seemed to understand. "We've all lost people, kid. Don't be so hard on yourself."

She nodded and swallowed.

"Anyway." Sonic tossed the bottle into the air and caught it. "You do all social structure by ranks, right?"

"Yes, sir."

Sonic laughed. "I should have figured, when you called Shadow sir. What rank do you think we have?"

"Senior ranks, beta and delta range," Artemis replied. "Knuckles is the alpha."

A chuckle rippled through the room. Knuckles looked up, a red flush creeping across his muzzle. "You think I'm the alpha?"

"You're the commander, sir," Artemis said, cringing. Why were they laughing? Had she made yet another awful mistake?

"I'm only the commander until somebody competent shows up," Knuckles said. "The Acorn military guys are way better than me. They'll probably take over the resistance."

"Naw," Sonic said. "I heard them talking. They're going to form their own resistance and fight Eggman once the occupation goes into effect. They're loyal to the Princess."

Knuckles raised an eyebrow. "Really? Okay then. I'll support them all I can, but it looks like I'm stuck with this crappy job a little longer."

Sonic leaned across Artemis and held out a fist to Knuckles. "Bro fist, mister alpha."

Knuckles bumped fists. "So what's that make you?"

Sonic settled back into his chair. "How about it, Artemis?"

"Beta level, sir," she replied. "Second in command. You all are. I'm only, like, barely omega, if I rank at all."

Shadow snorted. "Beta. Right."

Sonic leaned back in his chair, arms behind his head. "Second in command. That's funny. Do you see me giving a bunch of orders?"

Artemis looked around at the hedgehogs and echidna. "Well ... no."

Sonic pointed at Shadow. "Does he give orders?"

Artemis shrugged. "He organized the evacuation from Willow Springs."

Shadow turned and lifted a finger. "Wrong. Amy organized that. I only carried it out because I'm the only one who can use chaos control without an emerald."

The young wolf flinched. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"The point I'm trying to make," said Sonic, "is we don't actually have ranks. We're all equals."

"But what about the chain of command?" Artemis exclaimed.

"That's different," Knuckles replied. "That's how the resistance has to run because the whole thing is one giant business that doesn't make money. I'm the commander because Shadow didn't want to be stuck behind a desk."

Shadow smirked. "True."

"Same for me," Sonic said. "Knux, sorry to say it, but nobody wants your job."

Knuckles made a face. "Thanks for your support, guys."

"Equals," Sonic repeated. "No weird social stuff. Friends. I'm not better than Shadow or Silver. Shads has chaos control. I have speed. Silv can move things with his mind. Together, we kick colossal butt. Apart, well, smaller amounts of butt." He pointed at Artemis. "And you, too - equal. No different than us."

"You're so much more powerful than me," Artemus said humbly. "I can't do chaos powers. I'm not very good with wispons, even."

"So?" Sonic said. "That's all training. It has nothing to do with your value as a person." He laid a hand on his chest. "That value comes from Fith, the over-god. Nobody can take that away from you - not me, not Eggman, nobody."

Artemis smiled a little. "You really believe that?"

Sonic nodded. "It's what keeps me fighting. It's why I tried to get free, there at the last, when Zavok was going to execute me." His eyes clouded for a moment, and he looked at the floor. "Guys, I spindashed Zavok. Just thought you should know."

Everyone stared at him. Artemis didn't understand why this was such a bad thing, but Knuckles shook his head, and Amy whispered, "Sonic!"

"Ha," Shadow said. "About time you showed some backbone."

Artemis almost asked why they were so shocked. Then she thought of videos she had seen, where Sonic had shredded through crowds of robots in a single spindash. What must that have done to a living person? She felt slightly ill.

Sonic lifted his head and frowned at them. "He broke up into tiny red squares that disappeared. Is that something that zeti do?"

Everyone exchanged puzzled glances.

"I'm pretty sure they're flesh and blood," Silver said. "Red squares?"

"I punched straight through him," Sonic said. "He felt solid, but then he just shredded away into these cubes. And there was this awful electronic sound. Is that some new kind of robot?"

Everyone looked at each other. "I haven't heard anything like that," Knuckles said.

"Me neither," Amy said. "Did Zavok look ... normal? Like, his uniform wasn't upside down?"

"No," Sonic said, raising an eyebrow. "He looked totally normal. But he must have been some kind of construct. He just ... fizzled away."

Artemis frowned. Something about the description rang a bell in her mind. Something about the way Infinite had hung in the air, surrounded by that shimmering red light ...

The hedgehogs discussed it for a while. Artemis listened, trying to pin down that ghost of recognition. She couldn't quite put it together in her head. In the meantime, she sat there more comfortably, soothed by Sonic's words about equality and friendship.

Sonic and Silver got up to spar again. Artemis excused herself and left the observation deck, looking for the galley. Her stomach had begun to rumble with hunger from all the exercise.

However, just outside the door to the observation deck, she stumbled across Honir. The black jackal stood in the corner, behind the deep doorframe, listening to their conversation. Artemis wouldn't have seen him at all if he hadn't moved a little as she passed.

She jumped and halted. "Honir?"

He stood there against the wall, his torso and arm swathed in bandages, and tears making twin tracks down his muzzle.

"What's wrong?" she murmured. "Are you in pain?"

He shook his head. "What they told you. About being equals."

Confused, Artemis stared at him. "What about it?"

"It's the kindest, most wonderful thing I've ever heard," Honir whispered, fresh tears coursing down his muzzle. "Do they really believe that? That all Mobians are equal?"

"Sonic does," Artemis replied. "Nobody disagreed with him."

Honir wiped his face. "It caught me off guard. I came to watch the sparring, but I ... I just listened instead."

Artemis made an extraordinary discovery at that moment. Gazing at the weeping jackal, she realized that he wasn't much older than she was, herself. He had the same desolate, desperate look that she had felt so much lately. He had no pack, and neither did she. They were equals, not because of the lack of ranking, but because they shared similar trauma. It was like her mind had expanded like a flower opening.

 _Equals._

Hesitantly, Artemis held out a hand. "I'm going to the galley to get lunch. Do you want to come?"

Honir nodded and took her hand with his good one. "That sounds great."

* * *

"The Acorn Empire surrendered," the Elder said scornfully. "I think we should raze their cities as punishment for weakness."

"We would raze their cities if they fought," the Lesser pointed out. "Eggman wants to rule the world. If he kills everyone, there's nothing to rule."

"But they surrendered!" the Elder snarled. "The Acorn Kingdom is known for their military cunning. Even though Sonic told us their secrets, it would have been a long, delicious fight."

"With much pointless bloodshed," the Lesser pointed out. "And the kingdom is full of refugees from Apotos and Spagonia. I think Princess Sally made the right choice."

"Perhaps," the Elder mused. "She's brilliant, that one. I expect Eggman will find the palace full of boobytraps when she leaves."

The Lesser chuckled in delight at this thought. "I hope so. If she inflicts one-tenth of her torture on the Death Egg upon Eggman, it will be worth it."

The Elder chuckled, too, but darkly. "Don't let him hear you say that."

"I don't fear Eggman," replied the Lesser. "I am only the Lesser. He pays no attention to me."

"It's true, you are no threat," the Elder admitted. "Your only use is for me to sharpen my wits upon you."

"How useful I am," said the Lesser dryly.

* * *

Blaze the cat stood atop one of the flat-topped roofs of the palace of Zoman, capital of Adabat. A corpse lay against the wall, reduced to a flaming, smoking piece of meat by her fire powers.

"That's what you get for spying on me, filth," she spat. She was a light purple cat with a white-tipped tail and muzzle. Usually she wore a specially tailored coat that restrained her fire powers, but she had let it slip to the floor back near the stairs during her pursuit of the spy. She stood there in her body suit, the seven gems in her necklace glowing like miniature suns.

From her vantage point on the roof, she looked across the city of Zamon to the huge statue of Sol the cat, first Guardian of the Sol emeralds. Beyond it, in the blue distance, a distant airship was circling the airport, preparing to land.

Blaze laid a hand on the Sol emeralds in her necklace to quiet them. "The resistance has arrived," she breathed. "And already our security is compromised."

Blaze stormed back across the roof, scooping up her coat as she went. She flung it around herself, despite the hot, humid jungle atmosphere. As she descended the stairs, she met four guards, big tigers in armor, who had been climbing the stairs with guns drawn.

"The spy is dead," Blaze told them. "However, he refused to tell me the name of his contact before he died."

The tigers bared their teeth. "We'll clean up the mess, Princess," the lead guard said. "Better talk to your father. He was asking for you."

The guards made way for Blaze. She swept past them and descended the stairs, anger making fire flicker at her fingertips. Fear gnawed at her heart. Eggman's spies were here, in the heart of Zamon. She inhaled deeply and exhaled. Calm. Restraint. Control.

She repeated this mantra until the fire at her fingertips winked out. Calmer, but still worried, she raced through the palace, with its sand-colored pillars, tile floors, and wide, sunny windows, to the royal quarters where the king lived.

Blaze's father, Tenoc Cat, had once been the same lilac color as his daughter. Now his fur was sprinkled with gray. He was built like a weightlifter, outweighing even the tigers who served under him. He paced around a table spread with a map of Adabat, moving colored pins and flags around.

"Blaze," he said as she entered. "Did the snake escape?"

"He was a falcon," Blaze replied, "and no, he didn't escape. He didn't give me any information, either."

Tenoc growled, his tail lashing back and forth. "I've got the northern resistance leaders arriving right now, along with the Acorn Kingdom's top brass. I can't believe they surrendered! It'll make our job so much harder."

Blaze looked at the map. It showed a cluster of flags with Eggman's logo occupying Spagonia, Apotos, and now the Acorn Kingdom. From there, they could invade both Adabat and Chun-nan. However, Adabat and Chun-nan were enormous. They occupied the entire southern and eastern parts of the main Mobian continent. Flags marked troop movements on their territories, too, forces gathering to fight the Eggman juggernaut.

"I want you to greet the Resistance leaders," Tenoc said. "I have meetings with my generals tonight and tomorrow. Make sure the Resistance is briefed. I'll coordinate battle plans with them on Wednesday."

"We're fighting Eggman, Father?" Blaze said.

"Yes," Tenoc replied, his yellow eyes fierce. "Sally Acorn lacked the resources to withstand the sort of siege Eggman can perform. But here in Adabat, we have the jungles. He can't get his war machines through those. He has to take the roads, and I have engineers sowing land mines as we speak."

Blaze allowed herself a grin. "I can't wait to see those giant robots collapse with their legs blown off."

Tenoc beamed at her. Then he sobered. "You must not let the Sol emeralds fall into Eggman's hands."

Blaze touched her necklace protectively. "I'll defend them with my life."

"I worry more about bullets and bombs," Tenoc said. "Your powers are formidable, Blaze, but you're not invincible. It wouldn't do for Eggman to pluck them from your lifeless body."

"I'll be extremely circumspect," Blaze promised. "Besides, Eggman won't get as far as Zamon, will he?"

Her father gave her a long look. "We thought he'd never get to Adabat at all. At this point, nothing is certain. You are not to enter pitched battle, understand? Flee if you must, but you must preserve your own life and the Sol emeralds with it."

"Yes, Father." Blaze seethed inwardly. The fire in her soul begged for a fight, to destroy and consume. She could use her gems to destroy anything mechanical, no matter what size. And with Sonic the Hedgehog dead, she had no hopes of a hero riding on the wings of battle to save them all.

No, Mobius would have to look to other heroes. Blaze planned to be one of them.

* * *

Artemis gazed out the windows of the airship at the Adabat capital of Zamon. It was a colorful city as the sun sank, its neon lights and spotlights lighting the sky. A casino glowed near the airport, the entire building cycling with orange and green neon in blinding patterns.

"Somebody keep me away from those casinos," Sonic said, gazing out the window alongside Artemis. "I'd have a real gambling problem if I had any money to gamble." He laughed.

Knuckles walked by. "We're here to work, Sonic. You don't want Eggman to knock all those casinos down."

"Or reroute all their profits to his accounts," Sonic said. "Which I could totally see him doing." Sonic poked Artemis. "Come on, rookie. Princess Blaze is going to show us around."

"Another princess?" Artemis said, following Sonic up the length of the airship. "What happened to the kings and queens?"

"Sally's a special case," Sonic said over his shoulder. "She runs the country for her father, who's down with terminal illness. Adabat has King Tenoc, and Blaze is his daughter. Be polite. She's one of those warrior princesses."

Artemis gulped and followed the blue hedgehog onto the bridge, and from there, down a staircase to the tarmac outside the terminal. The air was humid and the pavement had a damp look, although the sky was clear. The only thing that hinted that the airport was in a tropical climate was a weed growing through a crack in the pavement. As Artemis stepped over it, she realized it was a palm tree.

She joined a growing crowd around a fence with a gate in it. Two soldiers were checking identification and passports. Beyond them stood a purple cat in a long-sleeved coat, watching them with the tip of her tail twitching.

Artemis wasn't the only one without proper papers. After a lot of wrangling in dialects Artemis barely understood, a soldier gave her a paper card with a chip in it and told her not to lose it. Then she was ushered through the gate with the others.

Now she was close enough to see Blaze properly. The cat was perfectly calm, the only part of her betraying any impatience was her tail. She gazed hard at Sonic. Once the Resistance was assembled, Blaze said, "They told me you were dead."

"I'm supposed to be," Sonic said with a grin.

Her eyes swept him from head to foot. "You look like hell, hedgehog. Get some food in you."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "I've been out of prison three days. Give me some time, man."

Blaze straightened and faced them. "Welcome to Zamon, everyone. You arrive on the eve of battle. Eggman's forces stand on our doorstep. My father is meeting with his generals. He'll meet with you the day after tomorrow. For now, what do you need to set up headquarters?"

Knuckles stepped forward and bowed. "Thank you for your graciousness, Princess. As you can see, we've arrived with several hundred refugees. They'll need food and shelter in your hospitable city."

Blaze inclined her head. "That's being arranged. Adabat sorrows over the Acorn Kingdom's surrender, and we welcome all who come to us for sanctuary. Our chief secretary will be here momentarily to oversee accommodations. Now. As a fighting force, what do you need?"

Knuckles indicated the group with a sweep of a hand. "These are my elite fighters and tacticians. We need a secure location, preferably a bunker. We also need access to high speed communications."

Blaze nodded slowly, the gears turning behind her eyes. "Yes. I have a possible location in mind. Accompany me to the palace tonight, and in the morning we'll transfer you." She snapped her fingers and pointed. The guards at the gate hurried forward and led them into the airport terminal.

As Artemis followed the others, bewildered and lost in the maze of airport gates and moving sidewalks, she found herself walking behind Princess Blaze. Blaze had fallen in beside Silver, and they were chatting like old friends.

"I can't believe you came back," Blaze was saying. "You know the time travel is dangerous."

"I had to," Silver replied. "This war is altering the future in ways that shouldn't be possible. Besides, there's always the chance of seeing you again."

Blaze smiled and took his hand. "Why don't you stay this time?"

The white hedgehog shook his head. "You know why. This isn't my time."

"Excuses, excuses," Blaze sighed. "You won't stay, yet you might die here. What might that do to the future?"

"I won't die," Silver muttered, but he sounded uncertain.

Artemis tried not to listen anymore. These two had a history, and their private conversation made her uncomfortable. She slowed a little, letting them walk on ahead. At the rear of the group, she found Honir. The jackal trailed the others, gazing around the airport warily. His bandages stood out starkly in the artificial lighting.

"Are you okay?" Artemis asked him.

Honir nodded. "I was nearly killed outside of Zamon. Metal Sonic ambushed me. Being back so soon makes me a little jumpy."

"You're with friends this time," Artemis told him. "We've got your back."

Honir gazed at her for a long moment. "You have no idea how strange that is to me."

"Why? Don't you have friends?"

Honir sighed. "In Mazuri, the jackal packs work a little differently from your wolf packs. We fight each other for position and dominance. There's not much loyalty. Everybody is out to stab everybody else in the back and become alpha."

Artemis was appalled. "With wolves, your pack is your family. The alpha is the leader. It's his job to keep things calm and the pack safe."

Honir nodded. "I found this out when I left. I went out to seek my fortune, you might say. I didn't want to stay in the desert my whole life and have some other jackal kill me in my sleep."

"No wonder you liked the idea of being equal," Artemis said softly.

Honir smiled. "Yes. Being part of the Resistance has been the best part of my life. You all treat me so respectfully. Nobody gets stabbed in the back. There's such trust."

They left the airport and stepped onto a sidewalk beside a busy street. A large car waited nearby for them. The wolf and jackal climbed in with the others.

As the driver pulled away from the curb, Blaze said to Sonic, "What do you think your first step will be?"

Sonic grinned. Very softly, he replied, "Sally Acorn asked me to destroy the munitions plant north of here."

Blaze's eyes widened. "But that plant supplies our armies!"

Sonic shook his head. "It's Eggman's. I'll bet if you audit their records, the majority of their ammo is being sent out of the country."

Blaze sank back in her seat, chewing her lower lip. After a moment, she said, "If that's what I discover, then we'll enforce a shutdown."

Sonic sighed and closed his eyes. "Red tape and politics. Still better than prison."


	6. Chapter 6: Infinite Mindscrew

The Zabri Munitions Plant was located in a barren, desert area on a plateau above the jungle basin. It was a strange micro-climate, the landscape scored with deep arroyos that had lowered the water table until a desert had formed. Upon this barren corner of the land, someone had the bright idea to build a munitions factory. After all, if something blew up, nobody would care.

Knuckles had assigned a team to destroy it: Sonic and Artemis, and Shadow and Silver. Blaze had put her people on a secret audit of the factory, and Sally had been right - Eggman owned it under the name Ovi Kintobor.

"And that's why we're going to blow this place," Sonic told Artemis.

They each wore a small, tight-fitting backpack with explosive charges inside. Artemis was terrified to have the stuff strapped to her back. Sonic assured her that she wouldn't have to touch it - he'd had training in handling explosives.

Now Sonic signaled, and Artemis followed him in a sprint across a road toward an ammunition silo. They reached a fence, which Sonic leaped. Artemis fired her grappling hook at a projecting pipe overhead and used it to swing over the fence.

Sonic grinned and gave her a thumbs up. They hurried on in silence, Sonic jogging, Artemis sprinting to keep up.

The main body of the plant was built like a pyramid, ringed by silos and storage warehouses. Worker robots moved around here and there, and there was no sign of Mobians of any kind.

"At least we don't have to worry about killing anyone," Sonic whispered as they ducked between two silos. He swung off his backpack, pulled out a set of charges, and stuck them to each silo in turn. Artemis kept a lookout, grappling hook in one hand, wispon in the other. Nervous sweat already soaked her fur. The robots here were huge crab-like things, and there was one the size of a tank that patrolled along the road in the distance. She watched it, gripping her wispon.

"Done," Sonic whispered.

They sprinted toward a warehouse, working their way toward the pyramid structure in the factory's center. At the other end of the plant, Silver and Shadow were planting charges, too. The plan was to meet at the pyramid and destroy it from the inside.

Artemis ran beside Sonic, hardly believing this was happening. How was she on a mission with Mobius's greatest hero? Sure, he claimed they were equals. But in her deepest heart, Artemis didn't believe him. He was superior to her in age and wisdom. As she watched him plant another charge, his hands moving swiftly, she knew that she'd never be as bold and clever as Sonic.

A crab-robot rounded a corner and spotted them. A red light on its head began to flash. Artemis swung her wispon, pulling the trigger. A bolt of lightning crackled out like a whip, incinerating the robot's inner workings in a second. It shuddered and collapsed, smoking.

But it had done its work. All around them, sirens began to blare. Artemis cringed and checked Sonic's face, expecting to see disapproval.

To her surprise, Sonic laughed. "Oh boy, now things get interesting!"

Three more crabs rounded the corner, their shells peeling open to reveal machine guns. Sonic grabbed Artemis's hand, ran at the crabs, and dragged her up and over the nearest crab in a powerful, breathtaking leap that sizzled with chaos power. "Shoot that one," he told her, leaving her atop the center crab's shell. He leaped away and attacked the crab on the right.

Artemis lashed the left crab with lightning. As it fell, the crab beneath her reached for her with one razor-edged pincher. She flung herself off the crab and blasted it with lightning just as Sonic hit it with a spindash.

Sonic bounced off the electrified crab, hit the remains of its partner, and sat on the ground with a surprised expression, his blue spines smoking.

As the final crab collapsed, Artemis ran to him. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

"Ow?" Sonic said. "Friendly fire isn't friendly at all."

"It's this stupid lightning gun!" Artemis shed her backpack and rummaged inside, producing a violet-colored one. She swapped it for the lightning gun. "This one won't do that."

Sonic climbed to his feet. "Note to self. Stay away from the business end of wispons." He held out a hand. "We'd better not separate again. Safer that way."

"Right." Artemis found herself holding hands with Sonic the hedgehog as they ran down the road, fleeing robots and destroying the ones who got in the way. Sonic's grip was strong, and mostly he towed her along. His chaos aura kept catching at her, lifting her and propelling her along. She could work with it if she could concentrate for a minute, instead of having to aim and fire.

Her other wispon was called meteor, and fired energy pellets. The wisp inside was a particularly aggressive one, and had insisted that it accompany her. Every time she fired, she swore that the wisp laughed.

They reached the pyramid, Artemis breathless, Sonic still shaking his head a little. They ducked behind a warehouse and found Shadow and Silver waiting for them. Shadow stood with his arms crossed. Silver hovered a few inches off the ground with his psychokinesis, a handful of brass shells floating above his fingers.

"There you are," Shadow snapped. "You had to go and alert the whole base?"

"More fun that way," Sonic laughed. He said no word of blame, and Artemis was thankful.

Silver pointed, the blue cables on his gloves glowing brightly. "Here comes the big daddy. We'll handle him. You two set the charges inside."

The giant crab stomped toward them, red and covered in spikes, snapping its claws with an awful scissor-snipping sound. Silver accelerated a shell at it with his psychokinesis, reaching bullet speeds in a fraction of a second. The shell exploded on impact, destroying one of the crab's eyes. "Go!"

As Sonic and Artemis ran for the pyramid entrance, Sonic remarked, "Giving Silver a handful of live ammo is the scariest thing I've ever seen."

"And I thought he was scary with a couple of rocks," Artemis agreed.

She was actually talking to Sonic - reacting like an equal. It surprised her. In a combat situation, there was no time for rank considerations. Maybe Sonic was right and all she needed was training.

The inside of the pyramid was the actual munitions factory. It smelled of metal and gunpowder. Machines roared, conveyor belts rolled, and things turned and swiveled, pumped and pressed. Artemis would have halted, dazed, but Sonic tugged her onward, into the dangerous, automated maze.

He guided her straight to the center of the factory. There they found a huge tower that soared all the way to the pyramid's topmost peak. It was festooned with cables in colored bundles, leading out into the factory like cobwebs.

"Nerve center!" Sonic shouted over the noise. He pulled a set of charges out of Artemis's backpack and began attaching them.

The young wolf gazed around, trying to keep watch. There was so much noise and motion, a robot could sneak up on them and she'd never notice. Nervous and jumpy, it was the only reason she noticed a shimmer in the air. It emerged from the darkness beneath a conveyor belt and drifted toward them.

It looked like Espio when he used his active camouflage. Artemis half-turned to ask Sonic about it. Then the memory of Honir leaped to mind, covered in bandages, ambushed by Metal Sonic. Her heart gave a sick lurch.

She fired at the shimmer.

The meteor pellet hit the shimmer with a spark. The shimmer instantly gave way to Metal Sonic.

Artemis had never seen the robot in person before. She screamed. The robot was the same size as she was, polished blue, and every end of him was pointed - his sculpted head, his elbows, his fingertips. The digital red eyes were fixed on her with programmed malice. This machine would kill her without a second's remorse.

Sonic looked up and gasped. "Shoot him!"

Artemis sprayed Metal Sonic with meteor pellets. They sparked as they hit the polished blue metal, leaving dents and scratches, but unable to penetrate the armor. The robot kept walking toward them, fingers curled into claws that would catch and tear.

Sonic grabbed the lightning wispon out of Artemis's backpack. With a flick of his wrist, he lashed Metal Sonic with ten thousand volts of electricity.

The robot shuddered, flailed its limbs, and fell. As it did, it evaporated into tiny red cubes. The whole robot blew away like smoke, the red cubes vanishing. An electronic humming rang in Artemis's ears, fading as the cubes did.

Sonic and Artemis stared at the spot where Metal Sonic had been, gripping their weapons. They had just seen something unspeakably wrong. Artemis tried to grasp it. She had seen cubes like that in video games and computer screens, but never in real life. How could they exist in real life? They were data on a screen. But there was no screen. Her mind struggled to grasp it, rejecting what she had just seen over and over.

"That wasn't Mecha," Sonic said, hardly audible over the factory noise. "Let's get out of here."

They ran out of the factory and nearly plowed into Shadow and Silver, who were waiting outside.

"Metal Sonic was in there," Sonic panted. "But he turned into red cubes."

"So did the giant crab," Shadow said, looking repeatedly over his shoulder. His spines bristled in panic, and he breathed too fast. "I thought - well, maybe -" He stuttered to a halt.

"Something weird is going on," Silver said, scowling beneath his feather-like crest. "I saw them in my time, too. What new devilry has Eggman concocted?"

"I don't know," Sonic said, "but the charges are set. Let's blow this joint."

Artemis ran with the hedgehogs, out of the ammo plant, all the way back to where Wave the swallow awaited them in a helicopter. There, Shadow pressed the detonation switch. The ground shook underfoot. A shockwave blasted their fur and the roar of an explosion echoed like distant thunder. Artemis flattened her ears, shielding her face from the hot wind.

Sonic exchanged a high five with Artemis, Shadow, and Silver. "Let's get back to Zamon before Eggman notices the fireworks."

* * *

Infinite winced, and Eggman noticed.

The human and his pet monster rode along inside one of the skyscraper-sized Egg Titans, headed for Mobotropolis. The robot's feet rose and fell with engineered precision, so the only thing Eggman felt in the cockpit was a gentle rocking motion.

The cockpit was a small round room, ten feet across, with two seats for the pilot and copilot. While Eggman rode in a seat, Infinite floated wherever he wished, sometimes watching the instruments, sometimes gazing out the window. Once in a while he sat in the copilot seat and reclined, but he soon rose and zipped around again. Eggman would have been annoyed by the constant activity, but it meant that Infinite was controlling many, many hard light constructs in different places. Infinite was working.

But now the creature made a sound and clutched the pointed helmet that covered his head. Eggman looked up. Red light thrummed over Infinite's body, centered on the red jewel protruding from his chest.

"What's wrong now?" Eggman asked.

"Someone has just destroyed the Zabri Munitions Plant," Infinite said in a low, smooth voice.

"Destroyed!" Eggman exclaimed. He leaned across the Egg Titan's control panel and called up the network link that let him oversee his operations. Sure enough, all contact with the munitions plant had been lost.

"Who did it?" Eggman growled. "I know you see everything your constructs see."

The mask hid Infinite's expression, but there was a smile on his voice. "Sonic the Hedgehog. And friends."

"Blast them," Eggman muttered. "Four days since he escaped, and already he's fighting back. I thought you said he was in terrible condition?"

"He is," Infinite said, still with that audible smile. "He's gathered a group of his pathetic friends."

"The Resistance," Eggman growled. "Where are they now? They keep scurrying away like the rats they are."

"They recently arrived in Zamon," Infinite purred. "However, people have grown suspicious of my constructs there, so I'm not able to observe as closely as I like."

"Capture more data," Eggman replied. "Your current batch of constructs are getting repetitive."

Infinite growled and crossed the cockpit to a box set into the wall. Inside were two small red gems in glass boxes. They had the same cut and blood red luster as the gem embedded in Infinite's chest, but they were smaller.

"Only two left, Doctor," Infinite said, picking them up.

"And no time to make more," Eggman replied. "Destroy them after use, understand?"

"Yes." Infinite floated in the middle of the room, head turning this way and that, the blind eye socket on the right side of his mask glowing red. "I think I know my next targets."

"Go get them," Eggman said. "And spy on Zamon's defenses while you're down there. Once I have the Acorn Kingdom under control, King Tenoc and I have a little argument to settle. Namely, who gets those lovely little Sol emeralds."

"The Phantom Ruby needs greater power," Infinite agreed. "My capabilities are far too limited at present. I am not yet infinite."

"You're still mortal," Eggman snapped. "Even you can't handle the full might of the Ruby."

"I've grown much stronger," Infinite retorted, a little of his cool slipping. "Soon I'll be ready."

"Maybe so," Eggman replied. "Now, go. Scout their defenses. Locate the Resistance. If you find Sonic, kill him."

Infinite disappeared without a sound, trailing a few red cubes that disappeared in his wake.

* * *

Artemis walked along the roof of the Zamon palace, inhaling the wind, trying to calm herself.

A storm loomed along the horizon with black, angry clouds reaching out to cover the sun. Here in Adabat, such storms were common and lasted only a few hours. Artemis faced the teeth of the wind, leaned her elbows on the parapet, and gazed across the city.

The Resistance was housed in the palace temporarily. They had been given the guest wing, where the furnishings were better than the fancy hotel where Artemis had stayed when her pack had gone on vacation. She was overwhelmed by the delicate wooden chairs, the enormous beds, the fancy carpets and antique lamps. Worse, having a huge, empty room all to herself made her think of her parents, and her friends Sapphire and Jaden, and what they would have said about such splendor.

When she fled the rooms to escape the ghosts, she had to give her report to Knuckles, and terrifyingly, Blaze the Cat. The princess had listened to the story of the munition factory's demise without a word, only her tail twitching, like she was preparing to pounce when Artemis turned her back.

Knuckles had been satisfied with her account of destroying the factory, then questioned her about the mysterious un-Metal Sonic. He summoned Amy to listen in, and they tossed around ideas about what the red cubes might have been. Blaze admitted to having seen spies who died in the same red cubes.

When they dismissed her, Artemis fled to the roof. Red cubes, missing her pack - it was all too much. She needed to see the sky, breathe the open air, escape endless questions and fear.

So she stood on the palace's flat roof, watching traffic in the streets below, watching the storm roll in, feeling the emptiness and grief all ragged and painful inside her. If only she had some time to process the magnitude of her loss. It had been nothing but training, moving from place to place, staying busy with no time to think. Maybe it was how the Resistance coped.

Sonic appeared out of the stairwell, blinking in the wind. "Heya Art."

The magenta wolf nodded to him. Sonic walked up and leaned his elbows on the parapet. "That storm looks nasty. Good thing we got back before it hit, huh?"

Artemis wasn't in the mood for small talk. She only nodded.

Sonic stood there in silence for a while, the wind ruffling his spines. "Missing your folks?"

She nodded.

"I miss Tails," Sonic said softly. "They said that he's out there somewhere, rolling along on some motorcycle he built himself. He was in Spagonia somewhere. Who knows where he is now. Or what's happened to him."

The anxiety in his voice made Artemis scrutinize the hedgehog's face. He wore a bleak expression, eyes half-closed against the wind. He looked the way she felt inside - sad and lost. But he carried a layer of worry that she didn't.

"It's worse," she said suddenly.

Sonic glanced at her. "What is?"

"I lost everyone," Artemis said, struggling to put her feelings into words. "They're dead. But I don't worry about them. Tails is alive, so you worry. It's worse than if he was dead."

Sonic blinked rapidly and drew the back of one hand across his eyes. "He might be dead. It's not knowing that's so awful."

Artemis patted his shoulder awkwardly. "Did you lose friends and family?"

Sonic bowed his head for a moment, hunching his shoulders. "Yeah. But they weren't just casualties. They died because I told Eggman their secrets." He gave Artemis a pained smile. "At least you didn't cause the deaths of everyone you know."

Artemis didn't know what to say to that. She stood there and watched the clouds roll closer. Lightning crackled through their insides.

"But not Tails," Artemis said. "Or Knuckles, or the others downstairs."

"Oh, I ratted them out, too," Sonic said lightly. "The chaos emeralds and the Master Emerald were the first thing they asked me about. But Knux hid Angel Island somewhere. It's a good thing he's paranoid. And Tails ran away. That's why they're both still alive."

Artemis's heart beat painfully for him. "We'll make it right."

He nodded. "It's why I haven't asked many questions. Or tried to be the commander. The less I know, the better."

This admission from the charismatic Sonic the Hedgehog made Artemis want to cry for him. He'd learned a hard lesson and it had left him scarred. But a huge raindrop splattered on the back of her hand, then on Sonic's nose, so there was no time for further sadness. They both shrieked and ran for the stairs as the rain poured down in a blinding sheet.

The rain's roar echoed through the palace, curtaining each window with opaque gray. Every so often lightning flashed, then thunder growled and rumbled, vibrating the glass.

"At least we're not out in it," Sonic said cheerfully, pausing to look out a window. "Looks like you'd drown standing up."

The hedgehog and wolf were standing there, watching the storm, when Shadow appeared out of nowhere in a ripple of chaos energy. "There you are, idiots. Get moving. That Infinite jerk has been sighted."

Sonic and Artemis spun around, equally startled, equally furious, equally bloodthirsty. Infinite had defeated Sonic in the first place, causing the war and deaths they had been grieving. "Just tell me where," Sonic breathed.

The black hedgehog accompanied them down the zig-zagging staircase. "Outside of town, east side. Near the jungle. He's after Silver."

Artemis caught the horrified look on Sonic's face as they crossed a landing.

"Not this time," Sonic muttered. "Art, go get a wispon. I'm headed out there. Catch up. Shadow?"

The black hedgehog snarled. "I'm coming, too."

Artemis peeled off from the two hedgehogs at the ground floor, pelting for the guest wing. Sonic and Shadow ran out into the driving rain, heedless of the storm that lashed them.

The lightning wisp would be a bad idea in the rain. The fire wisp would go out. "I think," Artemis said to herself, "I want the hover wisp this time."

* * *

Silver's spines and fur were slicked to his body by the onslaught of rain. He could barely see the mysterious Infinite, except as a swift-moving smear of red light.

He had been helping move supplies into the bunker the Resistance would be using. Silver's psychokinesis made this easy. He had finished just as the rain's gray curtain was sweeping over the treetops toward them. As Silver watched it approach, he noticed a dark figure flying under the storm's edge. The figure seemed to draw the clouds with him like a tidal wave. Red lightning crackled around him.

Silver drew a deep, horrified breath. "Get inside!" he cried to the Zamon workmen who he had been helping. "Lock the door! It's the monster!"

They obeyed him at once, retreating into the bunker and locking the heavy steel door. One of them contacted the palace.

Silver crouched, focusing his psychokinesis on himself, heart pounding. _You fought Iblis. You can fight this Infinite, too._

As the figure swept toward him, Silver shot into the air and struck him with a psychokinesis-powered fist.

Infinite flew backward, caught himself in midair, and faced Silver, red light shimmering across him. "Aren't you such a hero."

The rain caught up and surrounded them. It was a warm rain, but Silver's view of Infinite became a red blur. He reached out with his power, trying to seize his enemy and dash him to the ground. Silver felt Infinite's shape in his mind, but he couldn't grasp it. The monster slithered away from him as if oiled.

Infinite charged. Silver met him in a half-spindash. This time they bounced off each other. Silver careened into the cliff side where the bunker was built, striking the stone with a grunt. Infinite hit a tree, snapping a branch. But while Silver had to regain his focus to float into the air, Infinite simply floated upright, laughing, as if he felt no pain at all.

"What do you want?" Silver snarled, trying to mask how badly that had hurt.

"It's always my pleasure to crush a hero," Infinite said. "It keeps the rabble in line."

Silver attacked first, trying to take his enemy by surprise. Unfortunately, Infinite could see better in the rain than Silver could. He sidestepped in midair, letting Silver sail past him. Then he planted a kick in Silver's back, knocking the white hedgehog into the mud.

That hurt, too. Silver rolled to one side, narrowly avoiding Infinite as the monster dropped where he had just been, trying to break his back with both feet. For an instant Silver saw the masked face up close: the graceful lines sculpted into the steel, the way the rain beaded and ran off it, the sharply-pointed tip that covered the nose, the strange patterns inside the ears. Then Infinite shot into the air again.

Silver scrambled to his feet, dashing water and mud off his face. His white fur and spines were almost completely brown now. Stupid rain. Being dirty was one thing Silver hated above all others. His gaze settled on three rocks, focusing his psychokinesis on them at the speed of thought. Then he focused on Infinite, still rising into the air in a nimbus of red light. Silver held the rocks in his mind, thinking of their shape, the way the air flowed over them, the way the rain would slow them. Then he thought about speed, force, inertia, the way the granite would shatter upon impact.

Infinite took the first rock in the chin. It knocked his helmet askew, and he clamped a hand on it to hold it in place. He snarled and shot skyward, narrowly avoiding the other two rocks as they whistled by at Mach one.

Silver flew after him with a laugh. "Didn't like that, did you?"

"So, you want to play games," Infinite said from overhead. "Not a good choice. I always win." The red stone in his chest flashed.

The rain and jungle vanished. Silver was standing on a cliff, surrounded by a ruined city under an angry, cloudy sky. Below him loomed Iblis, a monster the size of a mountain made of lava and stone. Its body mounded together, rising toward Silver, an arm emerging from the molten rock, three fingers open, to grab the white hedgehog. But as it formed itself, the head took on the shape of Infinite's helmet, the same graceful lines and oval-shaped ears.

Fear swept through Silver in a white-hot wave. What had happened? Iblis had been defeated! Why did he look like Infinite? It made no sense. He turned to run as the lava-hand reached for him -

A blow knocked him backward, careening through space. The world flickered and the jungle and rain returned, just as Silver hit the cliff side again. This time his head struck the rock in exactly the wrong way. Silver folded to the ground in a heap.

Infinite laughed. "Never rely on your own senses. They can be deceived so easily." He curled into an attack stance in midair. "And now you die." Infinite dove at Silver's motionless body with the force of a speeding car.

From out of the rain, a whirling blue ball of spines flashed into Infinite's path, deflecting him like a raindrop from an umbrella. Sonic skidded to a halt, his legs caked with mud to the thigh. He planted himself between Infinite and Silver, shielding the younger hedgehog. As the white hedgehog blinked at him in a daze, Sonic said, "Time to tap out, Silver."

Infinite righted himself and floated back into the air, adjusting the set of his helmet. "Well well, the little blue savior. Back from prison in time for his own execution." He took a fighting stance in midair. "But what's that I smell? You reek of fear. Glad to see I left such an impression."

Sonic glanced down at himself. "I'm pretty sure that's wet hedgehog you're smelling." He spread his arms. "You, on the other hand, haven't made an impression. I know nothing about you! Not even your name."

"You may call me Infinite, in the few seconds that remain to you," the creature replied.

"I meant your actual name," Sonic said. "But okay, we'll start with the nickname. So, what's your favorite color? Do you enjoy long, romantic walks on the beach? What's the source of your power? You can skip the first two questions."

"My power is none of your concern," Infinite replied. But the rain had begun to slacken, and as Infinite moved in midair, the red stone embedded in his chest flashed in the light.

"Let me guess," Sonic said, pretending to think. "You've got a chaos emerald or three."

Infinite swooped at a treetop and plucked a green boa off a branch. The snake coiled itself around his arm, the head swaying out into the air on a long neck. "My turn for the questions, Sonic. Do you enjoy large reptiles?"

"Is this a trick question?" Sonic said. "That's not a large reptile."

"On the contrary," Infinite replied, "it's very, very large."

The gem in his chest emitted a pulse of power that flattened Sonic's ears. At the same time, an electronic tone rang in his head - the same one he had heard with Zavok and Metal Sonic.

The snake's weaving head suddenly grew to the size of a t-rex's. The snake dropped to the ground under its own weight, the body expanding and expanding as it went. Infinite seemed to pour snake through his arms forever. The long body coiled and bunched together, the head rising above Sonic's, the tongue flicking in and out.

"Silver," Sonic whispered, "run for it."

"What about you?" Silver said, struggling to his feet.

"I'll be fine," Sonic said, never taking his gaze from the snake. "Go!"

Silver shot skyward, wrapped in a psychokinesis field.

Attracted by the motion, the snake turned in Sonic's direction, the head suddenly weaving back and forth, as if it had scented prey.

"Oh no you don't!" Sonic exclaimed. This couldn't be real. Infinite was messing with him somehow - but he had no time for further thought. The snake struck at him, jaws open, grabbed Sonic, and tried to swallow him.

But hedgehogs were hard to swallow. Halfway down its throat, Sonic used his spindash against a living being for the second time in his life and tore out through the side of the snake's neck. Instead of blood, there was an eruption of red cubes.

The snake hissed and coiled in on itself as if it had taken a mortal wound. Then, deciding it had enough, the giant snake slithered for the trees.

Infinite swooped down and rode on the snake's head as it fled. Sonic snarled, leaped onto the snake's back, and ran up it toward his enemy.

The snake's back was oily smooth. Sonic's muddy shoes slipped a little at each step. To make matters worse, the snake's sideways undulations made the whole thing constantly trying to shake him off. But they were in the rainforest now, and the boa's back made a highway through the dense green growth.

Infinite raised a hand. His gem emitted another pulse of power.

Suddenly red cubes crawled over the snake's back, forming speed bumps that flowed with the boa. Sonic tripped over one -

The power scorched through his brain like the mother of all headaches. He yelled. His eyes clamped shut by instinct, and he had to force them open.

He was still riding the serpent, but now its back was wrapped in spiky collars like a guard dog might wear. Rows and rows of spikes awaited him if he tried to reach Infinite. The trees had disappeared, too, and instead there was only blackened stumps and bare earth. Sonic rode along, staring. What the hell ...?

The red vision flickered away. The real world returned - green jungle, smooth, green boa, and Infinite at its head, laughing.

Infinite was screwing with his mind, somehow. Sonic growled and sprinted up the snake's back. He accelerated, taxing his starved muscles, aiming for Infinite's center of mass -

Infinite disappeared. Sonic flew off into the sky, sailing over the treetops at high speed. Landing in that jungle was going to hurt -

From out of nowhere, Artemis the wolf intercepted his flight, one hand outstretched. She flew along with a wispon in one hand like an umbrella. Sonic caught her arm, his momentum knocking them through the sky for half a mile. Artemis strained at the wispon - a green one with a spunky wisp inside.

She finally managed to swing around in a semicircle, propelling them back toward the fight. As the sun broke through the clouds, the huge snake glistened in the distance like a river of flowing scales. "Nice catch!" Sonic called. "What wispon is this?"

"Hover!" Artemis called back. "It won't last much longer, though! Also, Shadow is moving to flank Infinite!"

"Excellent," Sonic said. "I'll keep Infinite distracted. Art, circle around and protect the bunker. Silver's back there somewhere and he's hurt."

"Roger," Artemis replied. She swung Sonic in midair and tossed him onto the snake's broad back. Her wispon's hover power gave out, and the wolf dropped into the trees.

Infinite flickered into sight again as if he had used chaos control. This time he was far back near the snake's tail. "Taking aid from little girls now, hedgehog? How weak you've become."

"Who's the weak one?" Sonic said, jogging cautiously along the snake's back. "The guy who fights honestly, or the weasel who teleports away like a coward?"

"I am a jackal," Infinite snapped. He spread his arms and his gem gave another pulse of energy. More red cubes appeared, crawling over the snake's back, blocking Sonic's way.

Sonic leaped over them this time. Touching them once had been enough. "I can't tell what you are, helmet-man. Are you as ugly without it as you are with it on?"

Infinite's fists clenched at his sides. "Hold your tongue, hedgehog, or I'll tear it out."

"What's the matter?" Sonic taunted. "If the dress fits, wear it!"

His goal was to distract Infinite and make him so angry that he paid attention to nothing else. So far, it was working.

Infinite raised one hand, which filled with red fire. "Burn and die in agony!" He hurled it.

Sonic leaped aside with a laugh as the red fire splashed on the snake's back. "Gotta do better than that to take me out!"

"You will scream for mercy before the end," Infinite snarled. "Just as you did on the Death Egg." He summoned another handful of energy.

How had he known what had happened on the Death Egg? Infinite hasn't been there. Sonic's steps faltered. He was almost close enough to spring and knock out that red gem. But Infinite's words hit him in the wound in his soul, and for a crucial instant, Sonic hesitated.

Infinite hurled another fireball. Sonic sidestepped, lost his footing on the slick scales, and fell into the trees below.

At the same time, Shadow flashed out of the trees to the right, moving almost too fast to see. Infinite, focused on Sonic and blind in his right eye, never saw him coming. The black hedgehog struck Infinite like a speeding train. The jackal spun end over end and slammed into a tree trunk.

The giant snake vanished like a TV screen being switched off. In its place was a normal-sized tree boa, flicking its tongue in confusion. It hastily slithered for cover.

Sonic leaped to his feet to see Shadow standing nearby, arms folded, glaring as Infinite righted himself and floated into the air. Shadow had positioned himself to protect Sonic, as Sonic had protected Silver.

"Impossible," Infinite snarled, adjusting his helmet and holding his side. "You're both stronger than your data indicates."

"I'm no robot," Shadow snorted. "I can learn and grow. So can he." He jerked a thumb at Sonic.

"Gee, Shads, flatter me, why don't you," Sonic muttered.

"I'll teach you respect the next time we meet," Infinite said, and shot away in a streak of red light.

Shadow faced the direction Infinite had gone in case of further attack. "He still doesn't like being kicked around."

"Still?" Sonic said, brushing half-dried mud off his fur. "You've met him before?"

Shadow smirked. "I'm the reason he wears the stupid helmet."

Sonic stared at Shadow for a long moment, baffled. Shadow watched the sky.

"I think you may need to tell the Resistance a few things," Sonic said.

Shadow shrugged. "I have many secrets, hedgehog."

Sonic set out through the trees, headed back toward the bunker. "Yeah, well, maybe it's time to share some of them. Like, what's that gem in his chest?"

Shadow fell in beside him. "That, I don't know. You'll hear about it when we report in. I hate telling a story more than once."


	7. Chapter 7: Voxels

Artemis had reached the cliff side with the bunker door in it. It was open a crack, and Silver was standing there, looking out. "Is it safe?"

"No," Artemis told him. "They're fighting in the jungle." She brandished her wispon. "Are you coming?"

Silver turned his head and indicated a vast bloody stain in the quills on the back of his head. "Can't."

Artemis's hand flew to her mouth. "Silver!"

"Cover for me," Silver replied. "They're trying to find the bandages in here." He retreated inside, and the heavy door closed.

Infinite had hurt Silver! Artemis gripped her wispon and faced the trees, tears stinging her eyes. All that time spent training, all that practice, and Silver was injured in his first encounter with Infinite.

Her pack-instinct had latched onto the white hedgehog deeply when he had taken the time to show her kindness. He was family, and someone had hurt him. For the first time, the grief and fear inside her coalesced into rage. A growl bubbled in her chest. Had Infinite appeared at that moment, Artemis would have flung herself at his throat.

As she stood there, hot and aching for battle, a glint of red caught her eye. Something sparkled in the mud, pressed deeply in a footprint. It glowed. A chaos emerald, maybe?

Cautiously she approached and dug the red thing out with a stick. It was a small ruby, no bigger than a marble, star-cut in many odd, pointed facets. It sort of looked like the gem Infinite wore in his chest. She touched it.

An electronic humming filled her ears. The jungle vanished. Suddenly she stood in a forest glade where moss hung from the trees, forming a green carpet underfoot. Delicate blue and purple flowers clustered around her feet, perfuming the air with their scent. It was no place she had ever been, but she had dreamed of finding a place like it someday. She gasped in delight.

The vision vanished. She was standing in the mud with her wispon in one hand and the little ruby in the other. Confused, she studied it. Had the ruby given her a vision? It must be some kind of chaos crystal, at least.

She tucked it in her vest pocket. She'd ask about it when they reported in.

As she did, Sonic and Shadow stepped out of the jungle, tired and dirty.

"Where's Infinite?" Artemis exclaimed.

"Ran," Sonic said. "He didn't like getting tag teamed." He lightly punched Shadow's shoulder. "We did gang up on him, didn't we?"

"You make a suitable distraction," Shadow said, ignoring the punch. "Artemis, where's Silver?"

"Inside," she said, pointing at the bunker door. "Having his head bandaged."

"Poor guy," Sonic said. "I should have gotten here sooner. He went toe to toe with Infinite, held him off for a long time."

Shadow shrugged. "Maybe psychokinesis is good for something, then." He knocked on the bunker door. "Once he's fit for travel, we'll report in. It's time we fit together some of these puzzle pieces."

* * *

"The power has its drawbacks," said the Lesser. "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."

"Yes," muttered the Elder. "To deliver a blow, I must be able to take one. However, I would prefer not to take any." He was doubled up, holding his ribs.

The Lesser laughed. "They were stronger than their data indicated?"

"Sonic is weak!" the Elder spat. "We starved him, beat him, tortured him! He should not have been able to fight me with such vigor. It's impossible."

"And Shadow?" the Lesser said.

The Elder snarled, snapping his teeth together. "Would that Shadow had been imprisoned, too. I have many delicate tortures planned for him."

"Their data is obsolete," the Lesser pointed out. "Does that mean that all of it is?"

"Shut up," the Elder muttered. "Eggman must not know."

The Lesser was pleased. "Does that mean that you fear him?"

"I fear nothing," the Elder whispered.

* * *

Many miles to the north, a gentler rainstorm swept the Acorn Kingdom. Tails and young Sonic had driven the motorcycle into a fir wood where the dense branches blocked most of the rain.

"I'm headed to that town over there," Tails said, rummaging in his bag. "We're almost out of food."

"Cool," Sonic said. "I'll go with you."

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Tails said. "My Sonic's dead, and if people see you ..."

Sonic froze, ears flattening. Slowly he turned and looked at his friend. "What do you mean, I'm dead?"

"Eggman's monster got him," Tails said. "And it's my fault."

Sonic sat on the edge of the motorcycle's sidecar, suddenly pale. "Maybe you'd better tell me what's going on."

Tails did, as best as he could. When he described the terrible fight that Sonic had lost, he choked up and had to stop for a while.

"I wondered why you were out on your own like this," young Sonic said. "I mean, if I were around, we'd be hanging out, right?"

Tails nodded and wiped his nose.

Young Sonic crossed his arms. "No wonder Robotnik has taken over. I'm not here to stop him."

"He's called Eggman now," Tails said, voice cracking.

Sonic shrugged. "Tomato, tomato. The point is, if we hunt him down and defeat him, the war's over. Right?"

"Right," Tails said slowly. "But it won't be easy. Eggman has those giant robots and armies and all kinds of stuff."

Sonic nodded and shrugged. "Remember Wing Fortress? Not much has changed. Finding him will be the biggest trick."

Tails slung his backpack over his shoulders. "Wait here while I go buy food. I'll see what news I can pick up. The Acorn Kingdom has fought Eggman for years. They might know all kinds of things."

Sonic looked unhappy. "Be careful, little bro. There's an awful lot of robots around."

The rain had subsided to a drizzle. Tails set off across a wet field and found a road, now glistening and reflecting the sky. It led him straight toward a little town in the distance.

His first clue that all was not right were the two eight-foot tall robots standing guard at the first row of houses. Their red eyes tracked him as he walked. Tails wanted to bolt in the other direction, but he was doing nothing wrong. He had no weapons. He forced himself to walk normally. The robots let him pass, their heads rotating to watch the road again.

There were robots on every street corner, watching cars pass and pedestrians hurrying by. Tails had been to the Acorn Kingdom many times, and he'd never seen it like this. People were nervous, hurrying from place to place, cringing from the robots' stares. Why didn't people fight?

It was a relief to duck into a shop. Tails wandered the aisles, picking out supplies that would keep on the road.

When he arrived at the checkout counter, the clerk looked at Tails's armful of groceries and said, "Oh no, sir, you can't buy that much. That's over ration."

Tails slowly set down the various items. "Food is rationed now?"

The clerk nodded. "The Princess surrendered to the Eggman Empire a few days ago. The first thing Eggman did was impose strict rationing on all goods. The robot outside will check your receipt to make sure."

Tails gazed sadly at all the food he had looked forward to eating. "What can I have, then?"

The clerk sorted quickly through the food, ending up with a depressingly small pile of groceries. "Tell you what," the clerk said. "Put back this cheese and I'll give you ten pounds of dry beans instead."

"But beans take forever to cook," Tails pointed out.

The clerk lifted a plastic container from behind the counter. "Measure a meal's worth into this in the morning. Fill it with water. By evening, the beans will be soaked enough to cook quickly."

Tails grinned. "That's more like it. Thanks so much!"

"I know who you are," the clerk said, giving Tails a pitying look. "The Resistance retreated to Adabat, if you're looking for them."

Tails thought of the long miles that lay between the Acorn Kingdom and the tropical country, and sighed. "Thanks. I guess that's where I'm headed. Don't tell Eggman, okay?"

The clerk nodded. "Not sure how much good it will do. The robots have seen you already."

Tails paid for his groceries and went outside, receipt clenched in a sweaty hand. The huge robot outside the door said, "Receipt, please," in a harsh mechanical voice.

The young fox handed it over and waited as the robot scanned it. After a moment the robot handed it back. "Thank you for following rationing protocols."

Tails got out of there as quick as he could without actually running.

Young Sonic was waiting for him at the edge of the trees, pacing anxiously back and forth. He brightened as Tails approached. "Everything went okay?"

"Sort of." Tails explained about the occupying force and the strict rationing. "Eggman's only been in charge for a few days. Think how much worse it will get!"

Sonic looked fierce. "I vote we track down Robotnik. Beat him down, take him hostage, make him undo all this. If we stop him, we can end this."

Sonic's bravado warmed Tails to the core. But he pointed out, "We don't know where he is."

"Then let's go hunting." Sonic slammed a fist into a palm. "Then we can fix everything he's wrecked."

This began a week of careful travel, hiding, scouting at night, and clandestine conversations with discontented citizens. Tails knew he was taking an awful risk, exposing this alternate Sonic like this. Sonic wasn't easy to hide. He liked attention, and running fast, and fighting robots. Hiding and sneaking galled him. He chafed more and more as they crept toward the capital.

"I can't take much more," young Sonic muttered as they crept over a rocky hillside. There was rumored to be an encampment of Shamarians on the far side, and they were trying to see if this was true. Eggman often consulted with his conscripted soldiers - perhaps to cow them as much as give them orders.

"I'm going to destroy a robot by accident one of these days," Sonic muttered, leaping from rock to rock. "It's so easy, and I've got the habit."

Tails halted, ears twitching. "Shh."

He and Sonic crouched on the rocks, listening, the breeze curling around them. It carried the murmur of voices close by. Perhaps behind the very next outcropping. The pair crept forward to see.

They reached a granite spike that formed a ridge running down into a little valley. Beyond the valley was the Shamarian encampment, but here was a little dell invisible to all eyes but their own. In the valley was Eggman, sitting in his little round hovercraft, as usual. The Sonic-killing monster stood a few feet away, the breeze ruffling his black fur. They were holding a private conversation.

Raw panic jolted through Tails at the sight of the monster. He crouched behind the stone, fighting the impulse to grab Sonic and run. He gasped breath after breath, too fast, too hard. The monster had killed Sonic. It was so strong, his scanner hadn't tracked its reading correctly. And here it was, twenty feet away, talking like a normal person. Was it a person? Or some kind of robot?

Sonic laid a comforting hand on his arm and patted it. Some of Tails's panic abated. He still had young Sonic with him. Eggman and the monster had no idea they were there. And this was the perfect opportunity to learn secret information. Tails tried to calm his breathing and listen.

"However, the database has many more tables to fill," the monster was saying. "It's a shame there are no more prototypes."

"Not with my Mystic Jungle base locked down," Eggman said. "No thanks to Shadow, curse him. If we could get back in there, I could manufacture more prototypes."

"Speaking of which." The monster held up a small red ruby. Then he crushed it in his fist and scattered the shards across the grass.

Sonic tensed, spines bristling.

"That was the last of the type D prototypes," the monster said.

"Good riddance," Eggman said, leaning back in his seat and stroking his mustache. "They were too unstable. Only good for a first-contact data capture. Have you destroyed them all?"

"Yes," said the monster. "All is now ready to-"

Tails's hand dislodged a pebble that rolled down the rock face, rattling loudly into the grass. Tails and Sonic ducked out of sight as the monster's head jerked in their direction.

"What is it?" Eggman snapped. The strain in his voice was suddenly evident.

"Nothing," purred the monster. "As I was saying, the Resistance stands no chance against us. I defeated Sonic easily at our last encounter. He wasn't worth the effort to finish off."

"You let Sonic live?" Eggman bellowed. "Infinite, I told you to kill him!"

An extraordinary feeling erupted in Tails's chest at this revelation. Sonic was alive? Fireworks burst inside him, all color and fire and joy. And he had fought this Infinite again? More fireworks. He pressed a hand to his mouth to keep from shouting.

"He will perish with his little friends anyway," the monster - Infinite - said. The red glow enveloped him, illuminating the blank eye socket in the right side of his helmet. He floated off the ground. "Even now, I am laying the necessary groundwork."

"Get to it, then," Eggman said.

Infinite shot away toward the city.

As soon as the monster was out of sight, young Sonic vaulted out of hiding, flashed down the rocks, and smashed into the front of Eggman's hovercraft. It jolted backward, a fresh dent in the body work.

"Hey!" Eggman exclaimed. "How did you get here so fast?" Then he paused, adjusting his glasses, staring as young Sonic landed and faced him. "You're not this universe's Sonic."

"Darn straight, Robotnik," Sonic replied.

"Now I know you're not," Eggman muttered. "Bah, I don't have time for this. Come and get it, hedgehog!" He slammed a glass shield over his cockpit and the hovercraft rose into the air.

"Watch out!" Tails called, watching from the safety of the rocks. "We don't know what he's -"

A pulse of energy blasted from Eggman's ship. The world blinked red. Tails felt it as a tearing in his brain, things being pushed and forced and reshaped into patterns they should never have taken. His eyes must be bleeding, that's why it was red -

The redness blinked off, leaving the grass bright green and the sky bright blue. But now Eggman's ship was a huge red walker with grasping arms, red shimmering bat wings, and an energy cannon big enough to core a tank.

"So that's where the Phantom Ruby went," Sonic remarked, dodging energy blasts from the cannon that blew holes in the turf. "I should have known. Look what you've done to this world!"

Tails slumped against the rock, watching the fight. A terrible electronic ringing filled his head. It came from Eggman's ship, and it left Tails weak and sick, as if he had taken a violent electric shock. How did Sonic stand it?

All Tails could do was lie there and watch as Eggman hurled boulders at his friend. Sonic spin dashed and kicked several boulders back at Eggman, tearing huge holes in his ship. Even if it was some kind of Phantom Ruby construct, it still obeyed the laws of physics, Tails noticed. And it could be damaged. Why would Eggman generate a destructible construct? Why not make it invincible? Unless the Ruby couldn't do that. Maybe he was using a prototype, too. Maybe all the rubies were prototypes. But what happened to the one that Sonic had chased through the portal? Surely there was an original around here somewhere.

Sonic knocked a boulder straight through the robot's chest. The vast machine fell toward the ground, but halfway there, it froze in midair. Its outlines broke up into red cubes. _Voxels_ , Tails thought. _Three-dimensional pixels_.

The awful ringing sound pulsed and stopped. The red ship was gone, and only Eggman remained, floating out of reach in his hovercraft.

"You're not very good at this," young Sonic said, hands on his hips. "The Hard-Boiled Heavies had way more imagination than you."

"Even if I knew who that was, I wouldn't care," Eggman replied. "I've got plenty of imagination, hedgehog. Wait until you see what I've got planned for you and your little Resistance."

"Planned?" Sonic said. "What, you're giving us a party?"

"A great party," Eggman replied. "The whole Resistance is invited, and death will be served."

Sonic laughed. "Real scary, Egghead. When is this party?"

"Three weeks," Eggman replied, flying his ship higher in the sky, preparing to take off. "You'll love it, hedgehog. Bring all your friends." He shot skyward and flew away.

Tails peeled himself off the rocks and shakily stood up. "What was all that?"

Sonic jerked a thumb at the retreating ship. "He's got the Phantom Ruby. And there's no freaking way I can beat him. I fought him as Super Sonic and I could barely hack it. Do you guys have the chaos emeralds?"

"No." Tails gingerly climbed down. His strength was returning rapidly. "Four of them haven't been seen in centuries. Three are in museums in various places."

"Three." Sonic counted on his fingers. "Apotos, Spagonia, and the Acorn Kingdom?"

Tails stared at him, suddenly speechless. Each of those countries had owned a chaos emerald at one point. And now they were Eggman's. The whole war suddenly seemed a lot blacker and hopeless.

Sonic read his expression correctly, and sighed. "I'm going to have words with this world's Sonic. Come on, little bro. Let's go to Adabat."

* * *

"So, here's what we know," Amy Rose said, spreading her notebook on the table.

The Resistance leaders sat or stood around the table in the Zamon palace. They had been in the middle of packing to move to the bunker, but intelligence was more important. When Sonic, Shadow, Silver, and Artemis arrived, the Resistance dropped everything to listen to their reports.

Amy read from her notebook. "There's a person called Infinite. Possibly a jackal. He wears a red gem of unknown origin, and it lets him warp reality. Is that right?" Amy asked, looking at Sonic.

Sonic glanced at his companions. "He turned a snake into a giant one, then he swapped dimensions on me. Or whatever. It was weird."

Silver's head was bandaged. He slumped in a chair, too weary to stand. "He did the same thing to me. One minute I was fighting him. The next minute, I was back in my own time, facing Iblis again. But Infinite still hit me from outside the vision." Blaze, sitting beside him, patted his shoulder.

Amy drummed her pencil on the table thoughtfully. "I'm going with 'warping reality' for now."

Knuckles stood nearby, listening, arms folded. "Would that explain those red cubes we keep seeing?"

"There were lots of them around Infinite," Sonic said. "Like it's a sign of his power. Does that mean that Metal Sonic at the munitions plant was an illusion, too?"

The group discussed this for a while. Artemis the wolf sat in a chair nearby, saying nothing. She really should report the little ruby she had found ... but reluctance held her back. It was hers. It had given her that beautiful vision of the mossy glade. If she reported it, they'd take it for study, and she'd never have a chance to see that glade again. So she sat there, having given her boring report, listening to the far more interesting accounts from the seasoned fighters.

Shadow raised a hand. "I have additional intel."

The room fell silent. Everyone turned respectfully to the black hedgehog.

"Two years ago," Shadow said, "before the war, I was working with my team to cripple Eggman's operations. We knew he was amassing too much power too fast."

Sonic nodded. "I was working with you, but at a different site."

"Yes." Shadow went on, "Even then, Eggman had hired mercenaries from Shamar. They'd secretly been his allies for years. These mercenaries terrorized the surrounding towns, stealing supplies, attacking innocent people. A certain pack of jackals were particularly notorious, so I took them down."

"Jackals," Sonic said. "No way."

Shadow nodded. "I maimed or killed most of them. Their leader I left blind in one eye. I seem to remember remarking that he had no right to harm others when, himself, was so weak. I may have said something about never seeing his face again. Then I left."

The Resistance groaned softly, anticipating where this was going.

"Fast forward to this spring," Shadow said. "E-123 Omega and I were checking one of Eggman's bases to make sure he hadn't reopened it. There's been activity reported there. Omega scouted ahead. Suddenly he seemed to be fighting something. His reports became confused and garbled. Then we lost contact with him. When I arrived at the abandoned base, I found a jackal who wore a helmet to hide his ruined face. He also had a huge red gem in his chest.

"I didn't recognize him, of course. But he knew me, and mocked me, proclaiming his lack of weakness. We fought. Then he used his power on me." Shadow touched one temple. "Something went wrong. Here. I could see the illusion he painted for me, but I could also see the real world. He wasn't good at his power yet, I suppose. He attacked me with inelegant masses of red cubes. He mimicked Rouge and Omega's voices. I confess, it screwed with me. I didn't know what was happening or where I was. I ran, and when I did, I discovered something."

Everyone waited.

"The illusions are finite," Shadow said. "They only manifest in a small area. Within that area, Infinite can control everything you see, hear, and feel. But it's possible to get outside that area and escape his control."

"Oh!" Sonic exclaimed. "So if I had run from that giant snake, it would have gone back to being tiny?"

"Maybe," Shadow replied. "I wish I could say that it's chaos energy doing it. But this is a psychic projection power that no chaos emerald has ever had, historically. We don't know what we're dealing with. Be very cautious."

At this point the door opened and Honir slipped inside. The black jackal was damp, fur plastered to his body, rainwater dripping from the end of his tail. He approached the table and saluted. "Intelligence report for the commander."

"In here," Knuckles said, and the pair hurried into a side room and closed the door.

Artemis waited anxiously, aware of the weight of the ruby in her pocket. She really should turn it in ...

After a moment, Knuckles and Honir returned, looking grim. "Bad news," Knuckles said. "Eggman's preparing an invasion force at the border, near the Zamon River. It looks like he's preparing to strike Zamon itself."

Princess Blaze, who had been sitting quietly beside Silver, listening, now jumped to her feet. Her tail lashed and she laid a hand over her jeweled necklace. "How do you know this? My father has heard nothing!"

Honir turned to her, wiping water out of his eyes. "I'm not certain, ma'am, but it may be Infinite's doing. The army wasn't there yesterday. Today, it's ten thousand strong."

"Projections," Sonic muttered. "That army that appears out of nowhere. Guys, he's not using chaos control. He's using that red gem to spawn a fake army."

"If we're correct," Shadow said, "then that army can exist only inside a reality field generated by Infinite himself. That's why he's always in the middle of it somewhere."

"But his army is real enough to kill people," Knuckles said. "We have to treat it like a real threat."

Amy stood up. "It's very real. But we can fight it in a way we never could before. Blaze, tell the king. Sonic, Shadow, you form a task force to hunt Infinite and disable him before he can bring his fake army here. If he does, all Eggman has to do is mop up."

"The rest of you," Knuckles said, "pack up. We're moving to the bunker immediately. Double time, people!"

In the following bustle and confusion, Artemis never had the chance to tell anyone about the gem in her pocket.

* * *

Through his good eye, Infinite could see the riverbank where his army waited, ranks upon ranks of robots, random Mobians, copies of Shadow, and other beings whose data he had encoded.

With his other eye, the blind one, he sensed the tanks in Eggman's fortress. One hundred vertical green tubes, each holding a formless blocky mass. This was the raw material, encoded in quanta and built of proteins and minerals. Each tube contained enough mass for a hundred small soldiers, or ten large units. His army was capped at ten thousand, and Eggman refused to build any more mass capsules.

The Phantom Ruby prototype thrummed in his chest, warming his heart, so close that he felt it touch that organ sometimes if he twisted quickly. The veins had grown through the Ruby, channeling its power through his blood and muscle. Infinite was fully integrated into the Ruby, and his only wish was to lay his hands on the real one. There was power, indeed. As much as the prototype empowered him, it couldn't do everything he wanted.

He sensed its limits now. The reality field stretched around him in a mile-wide bubble: a playground in which he could alter the perceptions of any mind, inflicting pain and fear upon them with the monsters he carried in his imagination. But he could not expand the field any further. He extended both arms, pushing, drawing on his gem's power. It swirled over him and through him. The field swelled a little, then snapped back to its original dimensions. No, he was limited. The great Infinite was finite, and he hated it.

 _Don't hurt yourself,_ the Lesser said in his mind.

 _Silence, fool_ , Infinite replied. _I must tax my limits so my limits can expand. One day I will wrap all of Mobius in the Phantom Ruby's embrace. Then you will see the ultimate paradise ... or the ultimate hell._

 _You only mean to cause more anguish and suffering_ , the Lesser replied. _You posses such great power, yet you use it only to harm. Why must it be this way?_

Infinite chose not to answer. He checked the crystal repeaters strapped to his arms and legs. These amplified the commands he sent his army, allowing him to control ten thousand individual units without breaking his own mind. He could not engage in much combat while controlling his army - he had to think too hard about the rest of his troops. He was a maelstrom of moving death. Anything that fell within his reality field was doomed.

"I'm in position, Doctor," Infinite said into the radio in his helmet.

"Excellent," Eggman replied. "Begin shelling the targets we discussed. Leave the roads. I want survivors, Infinite. There were too many casualties in Spagonia."

"I shall keep them in check," Infinite replied, secretly disappointed. He swapped the powerful Shadows for weaker Mobian soldiers. Less lethal. No Metal Sonics, either. He replaced those with the mangled GUN soldiers. Then he performed a cosmetic sweep, altering faces and uniforms, adding a nightmare twist that would inflict fear upon all who beheld them. If he couldn't kill, then he would terrorize.

 _"Why, brother?"_ the Lesser whispered, fully cognizant of these changes. _"Why are you so full of anger that you must destroy minds when you cannot destroy bodies?"_

" _You know very well._ " Infinite reached out and drew on the Lesser like the battery he was. The Lesser groaned.

 _"I have always sought out the winning side_ ," Infinite purred, imagining grabbing the Lesser by the throat and saying this to his face. " _You and your platitudes of peace are weak and foolish. When you die at last, I will rip the last iota of life force from your pathetic body with my own claws._ " He pushed the Lesser's energy into the artillery he had hidden along the river. Each cannon fired a burst of fiery red energy that sailed skyward in a wide arc, falling into the city beyond the river with a distant boom.

He was shelling Zamon with his brother's life force. Infinite laughed.


	8. Chapter 8: Don't tell anyone

Artemis saw the shelling begin from where she was unloading a truck at the Resistance's bunker. She halted and gave a wordless cry, the box slipping through her fingers. Once more she was standing on her home street in Spagonia, watching the robot hordes pour toward her, seeing her father and mother die fighting them.

Her cry drew the attention of the others, who followed her gaze.

"They've started shelling?" Knuckles exclaimed. "Damn you, Infinite!" He dashed into the bunker, shouting orders. "Contact Tenoc! Tell him it's started! Get those air raid sirens going! Amy, get Blaze! Does Zamon have an evacuation plan?"

Artemis ran into the bunker with the others, moving in a haze of horror. She went to the weaponry and grabbed the first wispon that came to hand, a red one with a flame wisp perched hopefully on top. As she grabbed the handle, the wisp dove inside the weapon with a happy squeal.

Other Mobians were grabbing wispons, too, and buckling on armor. Artemis secured a helmet and a bulletproof vest, then drifted in slow motion back to the briefing room in the deepest room in the bunker.

This was a large room with lots of monitors mounted on the walls. Amy Rose was deeply engrossed with maps and moving colored dots. The intelligence team, Espio the chameleon, Rouge the bat, Silver, and Honir, clustered around her, pointing at streets and moving masses of traffic. Knuckles was across the room, talking on a phone in a low, urgent voice.

Sonic wasn't there. Neither was Shadow. Artemis scanned the screens, hoping for a glimpse of them. Surely the hedgehogs could beat Infinite. They'd done it once already. Her entire body felt like a block of ice being carried in a raging torrent. Distantly, she knew she was terrified. But she had retreated into some other part of her being, the survival part. Here it was cold and logical and ready to do whatever it took.

Knuckles looked up from his phone call and noticed Artemis. He pointed at her and beckoned.

Artemis approached, her hand sweaty on the wispon's handle. "Sir?"

"You're with Fox Squad," Knuckles said. "Protect the evacuation. Run interference. Buy us time."

Artemis saluted. She darted out of the briefing room and back upstairs, where Fox Squad was assembling under the oversight of Vector the crocodile.

"Shouldn't it be Croc Squad?" Artemis asked.

The crocodile arched one eyebrow. "No time to change the letters, kid. Hop in the truck and let's go."

The young wolf joined a troop of other soldiers in the back of an open truck, together with their gear. Vector jumped into the cab and they raced toward the battle.

"First time in one of these fights?" the soldier next to her asked. He was a bird of some kind, with a short beak and odd feathery hands. His feathers were bright green.

"Yeah," Artemis replied. "The last time I saw Infinite's army, he wiped out everyone I knew."

The bird nodded. "The scuttlebutt is that none of this army is real. Some kind of hard light construct."

"That's right," Artemis replied. Talking about it made it slightly less terrifying. "Sonic and Shadow are trying to take down Infinite. He's generating the constructs."

The bird grinned. "I can cope with that. Makes it easier, really. I never liked killing. Fighting robots, eh, they're just machines. Hard light constructs? We're shooting pixels and smoke. No moral problems." He reached into the pile of gear at his feet and selected a grappling hook gun. He passed it to Artemis. "Never go into battle without one, kid. It might save your life."

She took the grappling hook and gulped. "Thanks."

* * *

Shadow and Sonic ran across the rooftops of downtown Zamon, headed toward the fire and smoke already rising from the eastern side. There were plenty of flat-topped roofs, as well as dangerous slanted angles, damp from the last rain. It was a glorious parkour challenge, and Shadow loved it. He ran and flipped and swung and rolled, itching for the crunch of metal against his spines.

Sonic, oddly enough, lagged behind. Shadow actually had to stop and wait for him at the edge of a building. Sonic was a little too slow, his jumps a little too short. He was breathing heavily as he caught up to the black hedgehog.

"Are you sick?" Shadow said tersely.

Sonic shook his head. "Tired."

"Tired?" Shadow gave a bark of laughter. "The mighty Sonic the Hedgehog gets tired?"

"I already fought Infinite once today," Sonic snapped. "I haven't eaten in eight hours. Do the math, Shads."

Shadow held his derisive smile in place, but sudden alarm rose in his heart. While he enjoyed tormenting the other hedgehog, they fought side by side as equals. He needed Sonic at full strength. If Sonic went down, it would be Shadow's fault for allowing him to fight in a weakened state.

Shadow already had Maria's death on his conscience. He didn't need Sonic's, too.

"Wait here," Shadow said.

He left Sonic on the rooftop, looking confused, and used chaos control to warp to the other end of Zamon. Here it was quiet. No traffic clogged the streets. Everyone was indoors, anxiously awaiting evacuation orders.

Shadow found a tiny corner restaurant that was still open beneath a flashing neon sign. Five minutes later he emerged, carrying two objects like rolled-up pizzas impaled on sticks. He teleported back to Sonic on the rooftop.

The blue hedgehog's eyes lit up. "Dinner? You got dinner?"

Shadow handed him a stick-pizza. "I haven't eaten, either. You just reminded me."

They sat on opposite rooftop corners and devoured their food, watching the cars fighting through the streets below. People wove through the mess on foot, carrying various belongings. The frantic, shrill noise of panic rose from the city all around. In the distance, the ominous boom and crack of artillery echoed off the walls. After one such boom, the street lights on the buildings around them went out.

"What are our chances?" Sonic said quietly.

Shadow shrugged. "I'd say seven out of ten."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "That good? You think we can kill Infinite?"

Kill Infinite. It had such a musical sound. But Shadow shook his head. "I don't think we can kill him that easily. We can stun him, disrupt his projection. But he barely seemed to feel the blows we gave him today."

"Yeah," Sonic said thoughtfully. "I'd smack him and he just laughed. Is he a construct, too?"

Shadow shrugged. "If he is, why does he need to travel? Why doesn't he just blink from place to place?"

"Because he likes the scenery? I don't know," Sonic said, dusting crumbs off his gloves. "Thanks for the grub. Next time, I'm buying."

"I'll hold you to it," Shadow said, snapping the empty stick. "Let's hunt Infinite."

Refreshed, the hedgehogs continued their journey, slower now, pausing to watch the shelling and listen for attack.

Sonic pointed. "Look at where the artillery has hit. They took out that power station and both police stations, but they haven't targeted the skyscrapers or the houses. I thought Eggman knocked down buildings for fun?"

Shadow frowned at the tangled mass of steel and wires that had been the power station. "That's not even the main power plant. It was only a substation. They're cutting utilities and law enforcement, but allowing people to escape. What, is Eggman tired of murdering people?"

They leaped to another roof and climbed a fire escape for a higher vantage point. Five stories higher, the hedgehogs had a better view of the river and the artillery on the far side. A huge army of robots were ranged along the riverbank as far as they could see, but the army made no move to cross the river.

"They're waiting," Sonic muttered. "But why?"

"I don't like this," Shadow breathed. "Infinite must be there somewhere. What's his game?"

"Go scout it out," Sonic said. "You're one of our spies, right?"

Shadow nodded with a smirk. "I'm the best."

A carefully-planned chaos control put Shadow in the trees behind the waiting army. Taking advantage of his black fur, he crept along in the darkest patches of shade, moving softly, watching, listening.

In this way he found Infinite. The creature stood on a tree limb twenty feet above his army, hidden by the branches, presenting no tell-tale silhouette to enemies. He conducted the artillery with small movements of his head and hands, looking first at the weapon, then jerking his head to fire it.

The temptation seized Shadow to teleport into that tree, grab Infinite from behind, and choke him to unconsciousness. But no, he was here only to spy.

He teleported back to the city roof, where Sonic was waiting impatiently. "Well?"

"Infinite is in that tree," Shadow said, pointing. "He's controlling the artillery. It must be part of his illusion field."

"I wish the bombing was," Sonic said bitterly, pointing at a warehouse with a smoking bite out of one side. "It's some kind of energy ball. No shrapnel, but they explode and burn like mad."

A footstep scuffed on the rooftop behind them. "I'll show him burning."

The hedgehogs spun to see Princess Blaze standing there. The purple cat's fur and clothing were immaculate, with only a tiny bit of black marring her fingertips. She wore her purple coat loosely around her, the clasp unbuckled. The Sol emeralds flickered around her neck like rainbow fire.

"Blaze, no," Sonic exclaimed. "It's too dangerous! You should be back at the palace where it's safe!"

Blaze ignored this. She walked to the edge of the roof and gazed at the enemy army without blinking. "Where did you see Infinite?"

Shadow pointed. "That tree, the tallest one across from us."

The purple cat pointed at it, as if simply trying to confirm which it was. But the tree's leaves were suddenly outlined in red light. Before Sonic and Shadow could grasp what was happening, the whole tree burst into flame and roared like a gasoline fire. The flames spiraled into the sky in a whirlwind created by the rising heat.

Infinite shot out of the tree and hung against the sky, a tiny figure wrapped in furious red light.

"Oh, he's ticked off now," Sonic observed. "We could have taken him out in lots of easier ways, you know."

"That slime hurt Silver," Blaze said through her pointed teeth, her tail shivering with bloodlust. "I'm going to teach him the meaning of pain."

Infinite dropped toward the ground. Blaze conjured flame under his feet, her yellow eyes wide and unblinking. Infinite flew back into the sky, moving in a jerky, angry way. Any time he tried to land, she burned that spot.

Suddenly Infinite appeared before them, floating a few feet beyond the rooftop. "So, it's you," he purred, fixing his single eye on Blaze. "I wondered who among the rodents could conjure fire in such a way." He raised an open hand. "But you are in my power now. And you will cease this nonsense." He clenched his fist.

A huge hand made of ice appeared out of nowhere and clenched around Blaze, encasing her limbs, crushing the breath out of her body. Shadow and Sonic grabbed at the clear, slippery ice and tried to pry it open, but it was solid as rock. Blaze stood there with a stunned expression, mouth half-open, not breathing.

"As for you two," Infinite said, turning to the hedgehogs, "you caused me pain. I will repay it sevenfold." He opened one hand and jerked his palm skyward.

Spikes emerged from the rooftop - spikes a foot long, made of metal and stone, uneven, ragged, like Infinite's concentration. Sonic curled into a ball, rolled across them, and fell against Blaze's ice block with a gasp.

Shadow stumbled as his feet slithered between the spikes, nearly fell, and grabbed a spike an inch away from piercing his chest. "This is stupid," he muttered. "Chaos control!"

The black hedgehog teleported to a spot behind and above Infinite, where he delivered a kick to the creature's head.

Or tried to. Infinite blinked out of existence before the blow could fall, returning to his waiting army. Shadow had to teleport to a nearby roof or fall eight stories.

The ice hand exploded off Blaze. She stood there, panting, arms outstretched, flames licking over her body. Her purple coat lay on the spikes behind her. Clad in a slim, fireproof bodysuit, the cat looked ferocious and dangerous as Shadow himself.

Sonic climbed to his feet in the spike-free spot where the ice had been. "We were about to save you."

"Sure you were," Blaze gasped. "It's time to fight back. No more putting up with Infinite."

The vast army blinked across the river. Suddenly the streets below were filled with marching robot troops. A hail of plasma bolts spattered the wall below them.

Shadow laughed. "Time to fight, indeed."

* * *

Fox Squad had time to take up position along Anchorage Street, parallel to the river, before Infinite began his army's attack.

The entire eastern side of the city had been ordered to evacuate. Most of the people had fled elsewhere in Zamon, and traffic on the roads was heavy and frantic. But the attack had happened so suddenly that many people were unable to get out before the enemy army arrived.

Vector divided Fox Squad into two groups. One group went door to door, knocking, helping people out to a bus, which had been ordered to help with evacuations by the mayor. Already the bus was half-full of elderly people and frightened families with small children.

The other half of Fox Squad was tasked with protecting the bus and the evacuees. Artemis the wolf was part of this group. She blasted robots with cold, calm precision. Her mind was locked down into business mode, and business was destroying the enemy. It didn't matter if it was a robot, a frightening GUN soldier with a half-melted face, or a Mobian wolf who looked like her mother. None of it was real, and every time a soldier evaporated into red cubes, her resolve strengthened.

Part of her, deep down, was gibbering in terror. It was the part that had survived Willow Springs, the part that expected any moment to see Infinite strolling down the street, immune to all damage, coming to tear out her throat.

They cleared Anchorage and reached an intersection. "What's over there?" Vector called to a Zamon soldier, who was acting as their guide.

"Commercial district," the soldier said. "It's empty all the way down. They evacuated first."

"Great." Vector waved to group two. "Fall back! Everybody on the bus! We're taking these people to safety, then we'll come back and do the next block."

Zamon soldiers were evacuating other neighborhoods onto other buses. One drove by as Artemis left the overturned car she had been sheltering behind. People were being saved. It soothed the sore place in her heart, the one that still mourned her family. She couldn't save them, but she could save someone else.

A swarm of robots charged down the street after the retreating defenders, sensing weakness. Artemis dove behind a mailbox and blasted oncoming enemies with her fire wispon. Robots exploded in red cubes, but more were coming, and more.

"Artemis!" Vector yelled in the distance. "Don't get pinned down!"

The young wolf looked around. Her fellow soldiers had already retreated to the bus. She was the only one still fighting, and the robots were threatening to get between her and safety. She fired her grappling hook at a street light, reeled in the cable, and soared above the street. In midair she fired her wispon downward, blasting herself upward. Soaring, exhilarated, she cushioned her landing with another flame burst.

As she did, she glimpsed movement in one of the upper windows of a nearby apartment building. A child's frightened face looked at her, nearly on eye level, as Artemis flashed by.

Artemis landed behind the bus, breathless. "Sir," she panted, running to Vector, "there's a child in that building. I just saw him."

The crocodile looked at the building, then at the robots filling the street, cutting off access. Then he looked at the bus, filled with frightened people who were pointing at the robots and ducking below window level.

"We have to go," Vector said. "I can't endanger all these people for the sake of one."

It was logical, yet Artemis wanted to scream. She had been that abandoned child, wandering through a war zone until she encountered Infinite. Would that child be so lucky?

"I'll go back," Artemis said. "I can grapple up there, grab the kid, and go out the back way."

Vector's jaws opened and closed, as if he wanted to agree and disagree at the same time. Finally he said, "All right. Rescue the kid and get to Amberlin Street. It's about five blocks that way. We'll come that way on our way back and pick you up." He dropped a hand on Artemis's shoulder. "Stay alive."

She saluted. "That's the idea, sir."

Vector swung into the bus. "Roll out! We've got more people to save!"

Artemis didn't watch the bus leave. If she watched her team abandon her to the robots, she would run after them, crying for them to take her, too. Wolves didn't leave their packs. Being alone was how you starved and died, or were torn apart by enemies.

"They're coming back for me," she muttered aloud. "Focus." She pictured the frightened eyes of the lost child in the upstairs window and tightened her grip on her wispon's handle. "Fire wisp, you okay?"

The wisp's cheerful squeak reached her ears.

She had to think of others, not her own cowardice. Holding only the thought of the lost child in her mind, she charged the robots, running at an angle and hosing them down with her flamethrower. The enemy army slowed, scattering to cover, taking aim at the single crazed soldier threatening them.

As the plasma bolts began to fly, Artemis fired her grappling hook at the apartment building's roof, caught a rain gutter, and let the powerful winch haul her upward. She ran up the side of the building, lifted by the grapple, and arrived on the window sill where she had seen the child.

The window was open, so she slid inside. A plasma bolt spattered on the wall outside, melting the plaster.

She had entered a small apartment with a leather sofa, a big screen TV, and a stack of boxes in one corner. A young raccoon stood in the middle of the floor, gripping a metal table leg in both hands like a weapon. "Stay back!" he exclaimed.

He was probably eight years old, and prepared to sell his life dearly. For some reason, pride rose in Artemis's heart and tears stung her eyes.

"It's okay!" she said. "I'm from the Resistance, and we're helping people evacuate."

The raccoon looked her up and down, adjusting his grip on the table leg. The black markings around his eyes made him look thoughtful. "You just broke into our apartment."

"The robots were blocking the door downstairs," Artemis said. "This was the only way I could reach you. Bring that pole and let's go. I don't know if they have the building surrounded."

"I'm waiting for my mom," the raccoon proclaimed. "She was supposed to be home from work an hour ago."

"She was probably forced to evacuate," Artemis said. She held out a hand. "I'm Artemis."

Slowly the raccoon held out a hand. "Joey."

They shook hands.

"Grab some things and let's go," Artemis said. "They saw me come in here and they might come after us."

Joey ran into another room and began stuffing things into a backpack. After another moment, he returned, thrusting his arms through the straps.

Artemis led him out the apartment door, down a dark hallway, and to a flight of stairs near an elevator. There was no electricity, and the whole building was eerily silent.

They crept to the ground floor, where they found robots waiting outside every door and window. They weren't attacking, only waiting.

"We're toast if we go out there," Joey remarked, hiding behind a pillar and gripping his metal pole.

Artemis agreed, but didn't say it. She had to be the adult, here, even if she was only a few years older than Joey. Being an adult meant pretending she had a plan, even though her spirits were sinking toward despair. They were blocked in. She might be able to swing to safety from an upper floor window, but she'd be exposed to plasma fire from below. And she didn't think she could carry Joey and use the grappling hook, too. She wasn't that strong.

In her wispon, the wisp made an annoying trilling sound. It was hungry. Artemis dug into her pants pocket for the energy pellets the soldiers fed their wisps in battle. As her fingers closed around the bag, she felt something else, smooth and hard. She pulled out both objects.

The little magic ruby glittered on her palm. She'd forgotten all about it.

Artemis fed her wisp, shoved the pellets back in her pocket, and held up the ruby. Joey's ears shot forward. "What is that? A chaos emerald?"

"I don't know what it is. But it-"

Artemis thought of the forest glade it had showed her last time. She wanted that glade - the hanging moss, the flowers, the birdsong. She wanted it with her entire being.

And suddenly she was there. Joey was, too. The two of them stood on a soft carpet of moss. The sun filtered through a roof of branches overhead, dappling the hyacinths and crocuses that pushed through the moss.

"What just happened?" Joey said. He touched the pillar he had been leaning against, which was now a graceful birch tree.

Artemis looked around the glade, and with a shock realized that it was still the building. But the walls were now trees, the ceiling only branches and leaves. Beyond the trees was a grassy meadow where the street should be. And there were no robots.

Artemis tightened her grip on the ruby and said, "Go back."

The forest vanished. They were back in the apartment lobby, the doors and windows besieged by robots.

The debriefing earlier ran through her head. Infinite's gem created a reality field that he could alter as he desired. So did this gem. Had Infinite dropped it during his fight with Silver? Did Artemis hold the same power as Infinite, himself?

She drew a steadying breath. "I think this gem lets us drop into another dimension for a minute. We're going to go back inside it, and run through it until we're past the robots. Okay?"

"Cool, like virtual reality!" Joey said.

Artemis took his hand and gripped the ruby. She focused on the forest glade, and it leaped into being around them. There were no robots here. She had the impression that she could bring them here if she wanted them, though. Her vision was compatible with Infinite's. She was borrowing a slice of his power, somehow.

Artemis and Joey hurried through the woods and out into the meadow. They rushed along until Artemis felt it might be safe to drop into reality and see where they were. They put their backs against trees, which turned out to be a dumpster.

They had traveled a whole block away from the apartment building. The street they were on was empty, but gunfire crackled from somewhere unnervingly close by.

"I've got to get us to Amberlin street," Artemis said.

"Oh, that way," Joey said. "Put us back in the forest. I can get us there."

Artemis phased back into the forest and followed the young raccoon. He had a better grasp of how the trees and glades corresponded to the real world. After a few enjoyable minutes of running through trees, grass and flowers, Joey halted. "Here seems about right."

They phased back into Zamon. They stood in the middle of a street. A bus waited a short distance away with Vector at the curb beside it, looking around anxiously. As he spotted them, his long jaws parted in a grin.

Artemis and Joey ran to him, Artemis with a rush of relief and joy so powerful that she forgot to salute and hugged the crocodile instead.

Vector laughed and hugged her back. "Glad you made it! Come on, we've got more people to save."

Artemis climbed onto the bus and sat beside Joey, wiping her eyes. "Don't tell anybody," she whispered.

The raccoon grinned. "That you hugged your commanding officer?"

"No, about going to the forest. But ... it'd be nice if you didn't mention the hug, either."


	9. Chapter 9: Faker

Blaze swept through the sky above Zamon, wreathed in yellow flames, flying like a comet. The purple cat's fur had changed to a reddish color, transformed by the power of the Sol emeralds glowing on her chest.

She had abandoned Sonic and Shadow. Her fury was intense, irrational, uncontrollable as the fire radiating from her. Constantly in her mind was the memory of Silver as he had entered the palace, his face nearly as white as his fur, muddy, tired, and in shock from his head wound. She had never seen him look like that, and for a horrible moment, she feared she might watch him die.

This battle was about revenge.

She hunted Infinite back and forth through Zamon. He teleported from place to place to escape her, but this disrupted his carefully-planned invasion. In some places, the army attacked and destroyed property, blocking roads with debris, engaging the Zamon and Resistance fighters. But in other places, his army stood still like abandoned puppets. He needed his full concentration to wage war, and Blaze was a lethal distraction.

She spotted him, floating above a street that was cluttered with his illusory army, guiding them into surrounding a single apartment building. Infinite floated like a ghost, his long white hair billowing about him as if underwater. Red light glowed from his blank eye socket and the stripes in his ears.

Blaze dropped from the sky, trailing fire like an ethereal robe, and slammed into Infinite feet-first.

The monster hadn't seen her coming. The blow sent him crashing into the asphalt, which cracked from the force of the blow. It should have splattered him like spaghetti sauce, but instead Infinite rose from the wreckage, his red glow intensifying. "I weary of this game." He charged at her, claws extended.

Blaze laughed and joined battle. They struck each other in midair, bounced off, regrouped and struck again. Blaze aimed flying kicks at the gem in Infinite's chest. Infinite clawed at her necklace.

Their battle was so swift and furious that it ended in a blink. Infinite successfully grabbed Blaze's necklace just as she landed a savage kick to the red gem.

The necklace broke. Sol emeralds rained from it. Infinite made an awful coughing cry and fell onto a rooftop, where he curled around his gem as if in agony. His army disappeared in waves, leaving east Zamon empty and damaged. Soldiers everywhere gave a weary cheer.

Blaze's fire power drained away, leaving her unsupported in midair. She fell with a scream. The pavement awaited her, unforgiving, hard as stone.

While Infinite had cracked the asphalt, Blaze was not so fortunate. She hit the ground feet-first, shattering her ankles, bounced off a wall, and finally rolled to a halt, stunned and barely conscious.

Two of her precious Sol emeralds glittered nearby, green and yellow. Blaze lay there, looking at them for what seemed like a long time. The magnitude of her failure was focused around those two small gems, separated from their fellows, robbed of their protective necklace. Slowly she stretched out an arm and closed her fingers around the gems.

Time passed. The last of the sunset faded from the sky. The eastern side of the city was buried in darkness with no power and no people.

A motorcycle engine sputtered in the distance. A headlight shone down the street, illuminating the cat's motionless figure. The motorcycle drove closer and stopped, its light trained on Blaze.

A fox and a young hedgehog leaped from the motorcycle and sidecar. "Oh no!" Tails cried, running to Blaze. "Oh no, I think she's dead!"

"Help me roll her over," young Sonic said. "Who is this, anyway?"

"Princess Blaze," Tails said, trying to lift and roll the motionless body without doing any more damage. "You know, the cat with crazy fire powers? And look, her necklace is torn up! Somebody took her Sol emeralds! Sonic, this is so bad!"

Sonic pressed his fingers to the side of the cat's neck and sat there a moment, concentrating. "She's alive. There's a pulse."

Tails sighed in relief. "She needs help. Do you think it would be safe to put her in the side car? If she has back injuries, we shouldn't move her."

Footsteps rang on the pavement further up the street. From out of the darkness stepped a black hedgehog with red stripes. Behind him was -

"Sonic!" Tails cried, leaping to his feet. He would have run to his friend, but Shadow blocked his way.

"Not so fast," snarled the black hedgehog. "Who are you? More fakes?" He glared at young Sonic.

"Fakes?" Tails said blankly. "No, I'm Tails, and this is a younger Sonic from a different dimension. We've been trying to find you guys, but we found Blaze instead."

Young Sonic stepped forward, the motorcycle's headlight outlining him in white. He glared at Shadow. "Who are you, anyway? A fake hedgehog?"

"The only fake around here is you," Shadow snarled.

Older Sonic pushed around Shadow, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, you're not good enough to be my fake, blah blah, we've done this song and dance before. Mini-Sonic, pull out a quill and drop it."

"Why?" Young Sonic said, gazing at his older double suspiciously.

"We've been dealing with Infinite making copies of people," older Sonic said. "If you're a copy, that quill will turn into red cubes and blow away."

Young Sonic plucked a quill. "Ouch. And I am not a ruby construct." He dropped the quill. It plinked to the concrete and sat there.

"See?" young Sonic said smugly.

Shadow growled and knelt over Blaze, checking her pulse.

Tails at last threw his arms around Sonic - his universe's Sonic. The one he had thought was dead. Sonic smelled sweaty and dirty and very much alive. The hedgehog hugged him back.

"You were dead," Tails whispered.

"Naw, just locked up," Sonic whispered back. "Where have you been? I was so worried."

"Hiding from Eggman, mostly." Tails stepped back, grinning. His face seemed stuck that way. "And I found young Sonic. He said the Phantom Ruby came here from his world. He came here looking for it. And now Eggman has it."

"Wait a minute," Shadow said, spinning on one heel. "What did you call it?"

"The Phantom Ruby," Tails said.

"That gem Infinite wears?" Shadow said.

Young Sonic shook his head. "No, he's using a copy. Eggman has the real one."

Older Sonic and Shadow exchanged a significant glance. "Another piece falls into place," Sonic muttered.

Tails barely cared about the whole conversation. Sonic was alive - his world's Sonic. He couldn't take his eyes off him. The empty hole in his chest began, slowly, to fill in.

Blaze opened her eyes and whimpered. Instantly everyone focused on her.

"The emeralds," she whispered. "He took my emeralds." She struggled to sit up. She made it halfway, then cried out. "My legs!"

Shadow ran a hand down her legs to her ankles. "Yeah, they're broken. Mostly your ankles. What did you do, jump off a building?"

"Infinite broke my necklace." Blaze's ears flattened in rage. She opened one hand to show the two Sol emeralds she had retrieved. "But he didn't get them all."

Everyone groaned. Young Sonic clenched his fists. Suddenly he stomped up to his older self. "This is your fault! Eggman has three chaos emeralds and five of these things now! Why haven't you been doing your job?"

Older Sonic yelled in his face, "I've been in prison for six months!"

"You should have escaped!" young Sonic bellowed right back.

"I tried!" Older Sonic yelled. "What do you know about it? The worst thing that ever happened to you was having to tell Knuckles what Eggman did to the Master Emerald!"

A sudden silence fell. Young Sonic backed away a step, looking shaken. "Yeah. Yeah, it was. How did you know that?"

Older Sonic tapped his forehead. "Same past. Same memories."

The two hedgehogs stared at each other, a little bit frightened, almost prepared to run away. Tails gazed from one hedgehog to the other, unsure which side to take.

Blaze groaned, trying to reposition her damaged legs a little. "Can someone help me?"

"Right." Shadow stood up. "Hands on shoulders, everyone. I'll teleport us to the palace."

"And my motorcycle!" Tails exclaimed.

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Fine. And your pathetic vehicle."

The whole group of them vanished in a flicker of chaos energy.

The dropped blue quill fizzled away in tiny red cubes.

On the roof of a nearby building, Infinite disappeared, too.

* * *

Infinite floated on an ocean of pain. Blood oozed around the edges of the ruby in his chest. He needed to teleport back to Eggman's mobile command center, but he just couldn't do it. He had moved himself back across the river, away from Zamon, but his enemies might still find him. He lay beneath the trees, a pathetic curled figure.

One hand clutched the remains of Blaze's necklace. Five Sol emeralds glittered at him whenever he looked at it. If he recalled to Eggman's tower, he would leave them behind. Abandoning the Sol emeralds was not an option, even when in dire pain.

"Brother," the Lesser whispered, "you are hurt."

"No!" Infinite snarled. "That would make me weak. I'm not weak!"

It was silent for a while. Infinite drew on his gem in vain, seeking healing, a respite from the pain, anything. But the Phantom Ruby could not heal. It painted visions before his eyes, illusions of being whole and well, of crushing his enemies, of seeing Eggman kneel before him. But it was all lies, and Infinite knew it.

"Brother," the Lesser whispered again, "let me help."

Infinite didn't answer. He could not ask the Lesser for aid. That would be admitting weakness, admitting that he was mortal, admitting that he had failed.

Another creature flickered into being beside him, where Infinite lay on the forest floor in a drift of leaves. The Lesser stooped over him and wiped away the blood. "The ruby is unharmed. But you ... you should really recall to the tower. The machines could heal you."

"No," Infinite snarled. "I have this." He held out the handful of Sol emeralds.

The Lesser regarded them soberly. "That is reason, indeed."

"You see?" Infinite said, almost pleading. "I can't recall. This is important. He might give me more power for this. He might give me the real Ruby."

"So you can create more suffering and death," the Lesser said, beginning to weave a pattern of red light in the air with a fingertip. His own ruby glowed a little brighter. "Tell me, how does it feel to suffer? To lie here, begging for aid?"

Infinite turned his face away, showing the Lesser only the blind side of his helmet.

"You weren't always like this," the Lesser said, gently. "Once we believed that peace was a desirable goal. We fought to preserve it. We had quiet lives."

"Of poverty," Infinite whispered. "Of relentless hunger. You must have forgotten."

"Not always," the Lesser murmured. "Sometimes things were hard. But we had peace. This life? There's nothing peaceful about arousing the ire of the world. That princess has nearly killed you, Brother." The Lesser completed his life force weaving and pressed it into the wound.

Infinite grunted as tissue mended and injured vessels closed. The bruise on his heart faded a little.

"How can you look upon our past and see anything but deprivation?" Infinite said, his voice strengthening.

He started to sit up, but the Lesser halted him with a firm hand on his shoulder. "Not yet. Again."

Infinite lay back. The Lesser began another life force weaving. It was the same energy that Infinite had used to bomb Zamon, the energy he drew from the Lesser to work his most powerful Ruby constructs. The Lesser had no power but life, but he had so much life that Infinite kept him around as a useful battery. He hadn't known the Lesser could heal with it. But then, Infinite had never been injured before.

"I don't need your compassion," Infinite muttered. "You have every weakness I despise."

The Lesser pressed more healing energy into Infinite's wound. "It's weakness until it benefits you. Then compassion becomes strength."

"It's not strength," Infinite spat. "The ability to cause fear, madness and death - that is strength."

"Who has the greater strength, then?" the Lesser said, stepping back with a smile. "The one who lies here, bleeding to death, or the one who mends him?"

Infinite swiped at his brother's face, but the Lesser faded like smoke, his construct too feeble to project any longer.

Infinite climbed to his feet and floated into the air, his ruby's scarlet power flowing over him without pain. "I am the Elder and you are merely the Lesser. You have no say in this business."

"It doesn't mean I'm wrong," the Lesser whispered in his mind.

Infinite said nothing, and it troubled him that he, indeed, had no answer.

* * *

Silver was awakened from sleep that night by the noise of Blaze being wheeled into the palace's infirmary on a gurney. He sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. Why was she being carried? What had happened?

Both her legs were in white casts. As two nurses set her gently in bed, Blaze stiffened and twisted, teeth bared and eyes closed.

"Careful, careful," one of the nurses warned. "The drugs won't take hold for another half an hour. Princess?"

"Just leave me alone," the purple cat growled. "I want to rest."

The nurses departed, taking the gurney with them. Only Blaze and Silver occupied beds in the long row. Blaze immediately turned toward the white hedgehog. "Infinite took the Sol emeralds."

Silver climbed out of his bed and padded to her in his bare feet. "Blaze ... oh no. How did this happen?" He sat on the edge of her bed and took her hand.

She gripped his hand like a vice. "We battled in midair. He grabbed my necklace and tore it off. He took five. I kept two."

Silver looked at her bandaged legs. "And then you fell."

"They had to staple my ankle joints and part of the tibia," Blaze said in a low voice. "I'm out of the fight for now. But Silver ... they have five Sol emeralds!"

"We'll get them back," Silver said, patting her hand. "Infinite's powerful, but he's not invincible. Neither is Eggman."

Blaze smiled fiercely, her yellow eyes burning. "I kicked Infinite's jewel. It hurt him badly. His whole army disappeared."

"See?" Silver said, straightening. "You won the battle! You didn't mention that part!"

Blaze lay back on the pillow, smiling. "Yes. Ten thousand invaders, gone. I hope I hurt Infinite as bad as he hurt me."

"We could win this war," Silver said slowly. "Blaze ... that's the key, isn't it? If we kill Infinite, we can cripple Eggman. His robot army is so much slower than Infinite's fake one. We could drive him back, retake our countries from him."

"We could," Blaze whispered. "But not me. I was going to join the Resistance. Maybe when I'm well."

"I'll fight for you," Silver said, squeezing her hand. "My head's a lot better already. This victory buys us even more time. If Infinite is hurt, who knows how long it'll be before he shows his face again."

Blaze smiled, a gentler, weary smile this time. The pain medication was finally kicking in, dulling the frantic pain in her legs. She reached up and stroked Silver's crest. "You always comfort me so much, Silver. Thanks for coming back to this time. We needed you."

Silver sat very still, relishing her touch, but struck by her words. He'd almost forgotten that he wasn't from this time. It had become his conflict, his war. He'd invested himself so deeply that he forgot he had to return to his own time someday. Leave his friends, return to a time when they were long dead. Return to a solitary existence where his psychokinesis powers made him a freak. His summons to an audience with Solaris had been the first time his life had any real meaning.

"I'll talk to Solaris," Silver said. "He's the god of time. Surely there's a better way to resolve this."

"I hope so." Blaze fretfully tried to change positions. "We need you here, Silver. I need you."

She needed him. The words went straight to his heart. The white hedgehog stayed beside her the rest of the night.

* * *

Tails's return brought complete joy to the Resistance. Sonic seemed to forget his starved, beaten state, laughing and rumpling the fox's head fur over and over. Tails never stopped grinning, sometimes with tears in his eyes.

Amy hugged him over and over, sobbing and laughing. In between, she asked him where he'd been and what he'd seen, still the tactician even in her downtime.

"You're the commander now?" Tails asked Knuckles, after receiving a hug from the burly echidna.

"Yep," Knuckles replied. "A lot's changed since you left, kid."

"I'd say so!" Tails exclaimed.

They all watched as the younger Sonic dashed through their midst and up to Amy. He stared at her without speaking, blushed, and ran away again.

Everyone roared with laughter. Sonic wrapped one arm around Amy and the other around Tails, grinning.

"Doing better?" Amy whispered to Sonic under cover of crowd noise.

The ragged hedgehog looked from her, to Tails, and back. "Yeah," he said quietly. "I'm a lot better now."

* * *

Knuckles slipped out of the bunker and walked into the dark jungle. Behind him, the bunker was alight with voices, laughter, celebration. They'd had a major victory today.

For the first time, Knuckles was able to rest.

He walked into the dark trees until he was certain he was alone, then sat on a tree stump. It was fresh and cool out here, the jungle damp from the rains. Autumn had brought a cooling to the humid atmosphere. It reminded him of Angel Island.

He missed his island with a constant homesickness. He'd taken up leading the Resistance after Sonic fell and Tails left. Their friends had wanted to fight Eggman, but their efforts had been scattered and unfocused. Not until Knuckles united them into a single fighting force did their efforts start making a difference. But he had sacrificed his entire way of life to do it.

Knuckles had been born and raised as Guardian of Angel Island and the Master Emerald. It was a chaos crystal the size of a boulder, and could control even the chaos emeralds themselves. Leaving it and his island had been the hardest choice he'd ever had to make.

So he'd hidden Angel Island. Instead of the ocean, where Eggman would look for it, Knuckles had hidden it in the Mobian Alps in Holaska. One more mountain among mountains, a few blizzards had buried it in snow, rendering it completely hidden to all eyes. Only its Guardian could find it again, with his peculiar connection to the island and the Master Emerald.

Knuckles closed his eyes and reached for the Master Emerald, as he did whenever the stress of war taxed him too deeply. The gem's calm enveloped him, heedless of the thousands of miles that separated them. Through it, he sensed the rest of the island, sleeping under its pelt of snow, the jungles rapidly dying back in the cold. He silently apologized to it all. When this was over, a few years at the equator would see it right.

As he sat there, meditating and relaxing, a new presence entered his consciousness. It felt like a blood red eye had opened and was studying him. Knuckles sat still, passive, not making any mental move that might attract further attention. There were chaos elementals that sometimes intruded when he communed with the Master Emerald. Touching the heart of Mobius's power tended to attract the curious. Mostly the elementals took a look, realized it was only the Guardian, and left him alone.

But this time, the being did not retreat. It remained on the edge of his senses, lurking. Its presence grew, strangling away his sense of the Master Emerald, filling his mind with itself instead.

Knuckles opened his eyes with a start. To his horror, he saw the trees around him through a red haze. He leaped to his feet, shaking his head. "Who are you?"

It wasn't a chaos elemental. He knew the way they felt, the shape of them, their moods. This was something utterly alien. It reminded him of the wisps, the way their hyper-go-on transformed chaos power into a different kind of energy. But this wasn't a wisp. It was utterly malevolent, reaching out to grasp him, seeking to breach his mind's defenses.

As the Master Emerald's guardian, Knuckles had learned a few ways to defend himself from unwanted chaos power intrusion. He clenched his fists, closed his eyes, and imagined himself inside a steel vault. He made the walls two feet thick, the floor of cut stone, the ceiling solid concrete. This image blocked out all intruders, and the longer he focused on it, the less he felt the strange red thing's presence.

Then he opened his eyes and found that the vault was real.

He really was standing on a stone floor, surrounded by steel walls. He'd never imagined a door to this place, so there wasn't one. A solitary light burned in the ceiling.

"What?" the echidna exclaimed. "No! This can't be real!" He touched the cold walls, running his fingertips over the metal. Then he punched it. It only hurt his fist.

"Stop it!" he bellowed at the alien power. It was still watching him, and he sensed its amusement. "You dirty cheater, trapping me in my own defenses!"

No answer.

Knuckles stood in the vault, panting in panic, struggling to think. He had been sitting in the jungle a minute ago. He hadn't teleported or anything. No, this was like one of Infinite's constructs, but a place instead of a person. It must be Infinite screwing with him long-distance.

This place only existed in his mind. Therefore, he could change it. He closed his eyes and drew deep, calming breaths. His senses were being deceived. He was actually standing in the trees, surrounded by nature, concrete objects that existed whether he perceived them or not.

Slowly he became aware of the smell of wet leaves and fresh air. That smell had never disappeared, really. He had been so distracted by touch and vision that he had neglected his other senses.

He opened his eyes and found himself back in the dim woods. No more red tint. No more sense of the red eye watching him.

"Got you, Infinite," Knuckles muttered. He hurried back to the bunker, not quite running, afraid to look over his shoulder into the darkness.

* * *

"Well done, Infinite," Eggman said. He poured the five Sol emeralds from hand to hand, relishing their sparkle, the clinking sound they made, the sheer wealth and power they represented.

Infinite floated nearby like a ghost, silent, watching closely with his one eye. They were in Eggman's home city of Metropolis, a high-tech, ultramodern city that had once been the capital of a country called Sibea. Now it was Eggmanland, the heart of the Eggman empire. It lay at the foot of a sleeping volcano, which Eggman tapped for its immense geothermal power.

The Egg Tower dominated the skyline, a massive edifice of glass and steel. Here Eggman conducted his most secret experiments, pioneered new technology, and operated his war. When Infinite arrived in the Acorn Kingdom with the Sol emeralds, Eggman had immediately taken a jet straight back to Metropolis.

Eggman walked down a white, clean hallway toward a set of elevators. Infinite followed, actually walking for a change. He showed no trace of the injury he had taken, and so far Eggman knew nothing about it.

"I'll add the Sol emeralds to the reactor immediately," Eggman said. "The extra power from these, as well as the chaos emeralds, will extend the Phantom Ruby's reach by a thousand percent."

"Yes, Doctor," Infinite purred.

Eggman gave him a sideways look. "I know what you want. Since you've been such a faithful lieutenant, I'll give you remote access to the Phantom Ruby."

Infinite bowed slightly. "Thank you, Doctor. You will find me worthy of such trust."

"I'd better," Eggman growled.

They took the elevator down thirty stories, far below ground level, to where the reactor lay. While the rest of the city operated on geothermal, this reactor ran on experimental chaos drives. Unlike the small drives that GUN used to power their robots, these were ten foot tall tubes, each containing a chaos crystal of some kind. Three burned brightly, siphoning power from their chaos emeralds: green, red, and yellow. All of their power was directed to an orb that floated in the middle of the central pillar. Inside this orb was the real Phantom Ruby. It was the size of Infinite's head, red streaked with blue, its interior rippling with power.

Eggman donned a rad suit and went walking about in the reactor floor in bright yellow, installing each Sol emerald to its own chaos drive. Infinite watched from outside the protective glass. He was so close to the Phantom Ruby. The copy in his chest thrummed in time with its parent, drawing energy by its mere proximity.

It was watching him.

Infinite became aware of this when Eggman installed the final Sol emerald. Perhaps it was the extra power that immediately poured through the reactor, brightening every drive and the orb at its center. But as Infinite stood there, he became aware that the Phantom Ruby was aware of him. More than that, it was fiercely awake, more awake than any Mobian had ever been in the history of Mobius.

"Can you hear me?" Infinite thought to it. A thing so awake must be able to communicate.

An insect crawled across the glass an inch from his nose. Infinite flinched backward - it was like a cross between a cockroach and a crab, white, with many wriggling legs. How did such a foul thing survive the radiation down here?

Then he looked closer. The insect glimmered red, exactly like the ruby's power. It turned its head and its eyes glowed red, streaked with blue.

"You do hear me," Infinite whispered. "You manifested this in response."

The insect leaped onto his chest. Infinite stood still. Part of him wanted to fling the thing away and run for his life. But the other half of him wanted to seize this insect, draw the Ruby's full power from it, never release it.

The Ruby insect crawled onto the gem copy on his chest. It wrapped its legs around it, digging barbed claws into Infinite's skin. Its white coloring changed to red shot with blue, perfectly camouflaged against the Ruby.

Its consciousness flickered inside Infinite's. New ideas poured through his mind: new ways of using the Ruby, new illusions to create, and a stronger reality bubble. Much, much stronger.

When Eggman stepped out of the reactor and sealed the doors, Infinite was surrounded by a red nimbus of light that crackled with black lightning.

"I take it that you've already tapped the real Ruby?"

Infinite gazed at him. Best not to let on how much power he actually had. "The addition of more emeralds has enabled me to perform many more feats of the mind."

"Right," Eggman said, giving his lieutenant a long, suspicious look. "We'll renew the assault on Zamon. Now that I have the majority of their precious Sol emeralds, those blasted cats have no way of countering us. I have a suspicion that a fourth chaos emerald is hidden in one of their jungle temples, and I intend to find it. I'll need your new power for stronger constructs. I want Egg Titans this time."

Infinite sighed and shook his head. "Always more robots. Why not meteors? Or dragons?"

"It's all about the branding," Eggman replied. "As soon as you go off-brand, nobody knows who they're dealing with, and they lose respect for you."

"Very well," Infinite replied. "I'll begin the configurations.

They took the elevator back up into the tower. Eggman gazed out the window as the building's supports flashed by. "Look at my beautiful city. I've collected Mobius's top minds, the best tech industries, the best schools. All that wonderful knowledge, flowing straight into my servers. It's like tapping a million super computers."

"How do you keep them loyal?" Infinite said. "Surely among all that intellect are hints of rebellion."

"It's a free economy," Eggman replied. "They can leave if they want. But I'm their biggest investor, so if they walk, they lose funding. Nobody wants that."

"Capitalism at its finest," Infinite observed.

Eggman grinned. "Competition ensures better quality. I cherry pick the best of the best. It's why I have you."

"I am the best," Infinite purred, appreciating the flattery and believing none of it. "Don't you worry that the discoveries here are benefiting Mobius too much?"

Eggman shrugged. "Once the world bows to me, I'll be a benevolent dictator. The wealth and knowledge of Metropolis will spread to the rest of the world. I will establish utopia at last."

"With the Phantom Ruby to hide the dirty parts," Infinite replied.

"Exactly." Eggman nodded. "No utopia is perfect, but the Phantom Ruby will make it seem that way. Take the Resistance, for example. They will vanish without a shred of memory."

"And Sonic?" Infinite said.

Eggman's grin widened. "Sonic will be kept on display as a demonstration of my power. I'll have a plaque made. 'Here in this stasis tube is Sonic the Hedgehog, Eggman's worst enemy. So must fall all enemies of the Eggman Empire'."


	10. Chapter 10: Spies

A few days later, Artemis the wolf sat on the floor in the armory, surrounded by a chirping, floating, colorful crowd of wisps. She was tossing them pellets, and they reacted exactly like a flock of pigeons when tossed bread - a flashing, rushing free for all.

She grinned and stroked the nearest wisp, a pudgy green hover wisp with fat tentacles. "Don't be so greedy! Everybody needs food, not just you."

The wisp burped and settled on her knee, blinking its single eye sleepily.

The door creaked open behind her. Artemis glanced up to see Honir the jackal slipping inside. He regarded Artemis and the wisps with astonishment. "I didn't know they ate food."

"I don't know if they do in the wild," Artemis replied, "but these do." She smiled, glad to see him. "How're you feeling?"

The jackal's bandages had been removed, and aside from his fur being a little rough, he looked healed. He flexed his formerly bandaged arm. "Good enough for covert missions. I'm supposed to practice using wispons. Commander's orders."

Artemis gestured at the colorful weapons hanging on the walls, the shape of each mimicking the shape of the wisp it belonged to. "Take your pick. I'd recommend lightning for beginners. But meteor is very nice, too."

The jackal edged through the wisps, careful not to step on them. They whisked aside with cheerful chirps. Artemis watched him. He still moved carefully, favoring his arm and side a little too much. For some reason she liked him, trusted him, even. She mentally scolded herself for misplaced pack instinct. Her subconscious was embracing the entire Resistance as her new pack, even though there wasn't a wolf in the bunch. Honir was the only canine, and he had been in Willow Springs. She couldn't help but slot him into her mental pack. Hopefully nobody found any of this out. They'd think she was only a particularly loyal soldier.

As Honir lifted down the lightning wispon, Artemis said timidly, "Why do you need wispons? I thought you were a spy."

He smiled a little and looked down, embarrassed. "Well. There's an argument going on right now. I'll need to be armed no matter which way it goes."

"An argument?" Artemis sat up straighter, throwing a handful of pellets at the wisps. There was a small explosion of color as they scrambled and flew after them.

Honir returned the lightning wispon to its hook and lifted a meteor wispon instead. "Eggman's army - the real one, not the illusions - is staging at the border, preparing to cross into Adabat."

Artemis stroked the fat wisp dozing on her knee, her ears laying back. "I kept hoping that driving Infinite off might have discouraged Eggman."

"Apparently not." Honir lifted the drill wispon and hefted it in his weak arm. Finding it too heavy, he put it back. "The other half of the argument is that we get the Sol emeralds back. King Tenoc and his daughter have always used them to defend their country, and without them, they fear Eggman's might."

"How would we do that?" Artemis said. "Eggman could have locked them up anywhere."

"He took them to Metropolis," Honir replied. "We have field agents there who witnessed the exchange between Infinite and Eggman. They're somewhere in the vaults below the Egg Tower."

"Metropolis," Artemis said flatly. "Capital of Eggmanland? Somebody wants us to sneak into Metropolis and rob Eggman?"

Honir held up a finger. "Eggman's forces are preparing to invade Adabat. His city is practically empty. If we attack him as he attacks Adabat, we'll catch him off guard. As far as I know, nobody has ever flanked him like that before."

"So," Artemis said slowly, "you're on the side that wants to invade Metropolis."

Honir shrugged with a sad smile. "Sitting here is suicide. Attacking Metropolis is slightly less certain suicide. I honestly think a small team has a better chance than a full frontal assault, but Knuckles is determined to win for once."

Artemis threw the last of the pellets to the wisps and stood up, wiping her hands on her pants. "Either way, we're going to be in a fight."

"Yep," Honir said. "What do you think of the void wispon?"

They fell to discussing the pros and cons of the various wispons. As they talked, Artemis sensed there was something else that Honir was worried about, but he wouldn't talk about it. He spoke lightly enough, but there was a deep sadness in his voice, in the set of his ears, in the way he stood with his shoulders slightly hunched.

As Honir settled on the meteor wispon and coaxed its wisp inside, Artemis ventured, "Is something wrong?"

Honir sighed. He gazed at his wispon for a long moment, as if considering what to say. Finally he looked up, still with that sad smile. "You've always been kind to me, Artemis. All of you have. And I'm fairly certain that attacking Metropolis will get you all killed. And I ... I don't want to see you die."

She gazed at him, some of his sadness spreading to her. "You honestly think so?"

He nodded. "I never expected to make friends here in the Resistance. I expected more backstabbing, the way the jackals operate. Instead, everyone treats each other fairly. Loyalty and trust is expected. I feel like I've come home. I don't want to lose that due to one fatal mistake."

Artemis picked up a lightning wispon, trying to hide how awkward this made her feel. "It might not be a mistake. What if we win? It'll be a terrible blow to Eggman if we capture his own city."

"I know." Honir nodded. "That's the problem. The stakes are horribly high. If we win, we win big. If we lose, we lose big."

They walked out of the bunker together, through the trees to where a firing range had been set up in a clearing. They practiced shooting a couple of targets nailed to trees. Artemis had grown comfortable with a lightning wisp, but Honir was awful. His freshly-healed arm was too weak to support the wispon's weight, and he couldn't hold it steady long enough to hit anything. They traded weapons, and he was equally bad with the lightning wispon.

They were taking a rest, Honir flopped against a tree trunk, when both Sonics and Tails walked out, carrying wispons and arguing.

"If we hit him fast and hard," young Sonic was saying, "we can totally win. I've been through Metropolis before. I know what it's like."

"Yeah, nine years ago," older Sonic countered. "It's really built up since then. There's a huge civilian population. Attacking Eggman is one thing, but I'm not going after civilians."

"Nobody's going after civilians!" young Sonic exclaimed. "Look, Eggman runs everything from the tower. We sneak in, capture that, get the Sol emeralds back, no big deal."

"And meet Infinite," older Sonic pointed out. "Got a plan for him?"

"He'll be here, attacking Adabat," young Sonic said with a wave of a hand. "Eggman doesn't change tactics that much."

"Until he does," older Sonic snapped. He spun and fired a meteor wispon at a target, putting four rounds through the center. "You know what? I'm staying here. Adabat needs me. You go to Metropolis, get shot up, whatever."

"I'll capture Eggman's tower and bring back the Sol emeralds," young Sonic said. "And you'll be like, 'Gee, younger me, you used to be awesome,' and I'll be like, 'Yeah, it's too bad I grow up to be such a wimp'."

Older Sonic bared his teeth. "I'm not a wimp! I've been through hell!"

"So?" Young Sonic said. "What, did Eggman take away your courage?"

Older Sonic stood there for a moment, spines bristling. Then he dashed away without another word.

Tails gazed after him. "I wish you'd lay off him, Sonic."

Young Sonic spread his arms. "He's turned into such a wuss! And that's going to be me! I think flanking Eggman is a great idea, and he's acting like we're marching straight to the Death Egg."

Artemis and Honir watched this exchange in bemusement.

Artemis said, "Excuse me, but ... how are there two Sonics?"

"Time travel," young Sonic said.

"Dimension hopping," Tails said at the same time.

Honir climbed to his feet, brushing grass off his black fur. "Wait ... how is that possible?"

"I chased the Phantom Ruby here," young Sonic said. "It screwed up my world, then it opened a portal and came here."

Honir pursed his lips and whistled a low, surprised note. "But ... I thought the Phantom Ruby only made illusions."

Young Sonic poked himself. "I feel pretty real. I'm not a construct, if you're wondering. We already tested it."

"So," Artemis said slowly, "you're from the past?" This threw out her reckoning completely. Despite Sonic's lecture about equality, she still considered him as ranking higher than herself. But here was another Sonic, younger, cockier, more inexperienced. Where did he fit in the ranking? Artemis had no idea.

Honir's perceptions had been shattered, too. He simply stood there and gaped. After a moment he closed his mouth and muttered, "It shouldn't be possible. It only deceives - right?" One hand wandered to his chest and he scratched the fur, as if expecting to feel something else.

Artemis saw the gesture, saw the look on Honir's face. _He's a spy ..._

Realization crystallized in her mind. Honir was Infinite without the mask and crystal. A construct, infiltrating the Resistance from the inside.

A crazy rush of emotions blasted through her - fear, anger at herself for not seeing the obvious, confusion at how nice he seemed, indecision about what to do. Should she confront him right there? What if she was wrong and he was a real jackal? He had just been talking about finding friends, and if she was wrong and got him kicked out of the Resistance, she'd confirm his expectations of being stabbed in the back.

No, she had no proof. She'd watch and wait to see what he did next. If he was Infinite, he'd be goading them into choosing the course of action that would get them wiped out the quickest.

All this passed through Artemis's head over the course of two seconds. Tails and young Sonic were debating the capabilities of the Phantom Ruby. Honir was still absently scratching his chest. He glanced at Artemis and dropped his hand to his side. "Just got the bandages off," he said with an embarrassed smile.

That's right, he had been hurt and bandaged. Constructs couldn't take damage, could they? Sonic and Shadow had beaten up Infinite, but Honir had been hurt long before that, back in the Acorn Kingdom.

As a test, Artemis said, "Does the Ruby only deceive, then?"

"I thought so," Honir replied. "Now, I'm not so sure." He grimaced and lifted the wispon. "Back to the grind." He returned to target practice, missing the target by several feet.

Artemis watched Honir closely after that, even going so far as to follow him around. But this was tricky to do, because she soon found herself assigned to Fox Squad again and preparing to leave for Metropolis. Shadow had volunteered to take a squad there via chaos control, and he was closeted in the command room, drawing up plans and strategies.

"So you're going, then?" Honir said, when Artemis went to the armory to suit up. He was there, too, looking gloomy in a bulletproof vest and helmet.

"I've been assigned," Artemis said stiffly, not sure how much to tell a potential traitor. She sorted through the rack of armored vests until she found one in her size.

"I'm helping defend Zamon," Honir said, head and tail drooping. "We get older Sonic. You get younger Sonic."

Artemis shot him a quick look, trying to read his expression. "What, do you think we have a chance?"

"Maybe," Honir said. "I've heard that Zamon is getting help from Chun-nan, but it may not arrive for another few days. You guys, on the other hand ... you've got no backup."

"This is a quick strike," Artemis said. "We've got to get those emeralds back." She drew a deep breath and tried to push through her suspicion. "Have you been to Metropolis? Any advice?"

Honir bowed his head a moment in thought. "Well. If you get separated from the others, or if there's stronger defenses than you thought, there's a certain tower you can fall back to. It's the Avian Building, where they have one of their colleges. They have airships that can get you out of the city quickly. It has a whole park in a dome on top, so you can't miss it."

"Thanks." Artemis made a mental note to avoid that building, since it was probably a trap. "What'll you do if Infinite shows up down here?"

Honir shrugged. "Save as many people as I can, I suppose."

Artemis remembered seeing him carrying a young Mobian cat out of the ruins of Willow Springs. He could have been Infinite then, too, but wearing a different face. It didn't make sense for him to try to kill her one second and help her the next, but then, spies were all about deception and lies.

She slapped him on the back, secretly checking to see if he felt solid. He did. "Well, stay alive, and we'll have a good laugh together when this is over with."

He nodded and gave her a searching look. "Be careful, Artemis. Don't believe everything you see."

* * *

"I'm calling it 'Operation Big Wave'," Knuckles said, facing his assembled troops outside the bunker. "Eggman's forces are staging at the Adabat border, preparing to cross and invade Zamon. He's not defending his own city of Meteopolis. Fox, Eagle, and Lion squads, you will chaos control to Metropolis and take Eggman's tower. We need those Sol emeralds back."

The soldiers listened closely, gripping their wispons. There were only seventy-five of them, but Knuckles assured them that they would be enough.

"Remember," the big red echidna said, "you don't have to capture the whole city. Only the Egg Tower. Shadow will set you down just outside the perimeter defenses. There are robot guards, but you can handle them. Inside, the emeralds are being kept somewhere in the lowest levels. We don't have any more intel than that, I'm afraid. Get in, get out. Rendezvous outside the tower at the north gate for extraction."

A soldier beside Artemis raised a hand. "What about Infinite?"

"Princess Blaze claims to have injured him," Knuckles replied with a savage grin. "He should be out of commission for a while. If not, chances are good that he'll be with the invasion force at the border. Eggman's standard strategy is to send Infinite ahead to soften up the defenses before he brings in his Egg Titans."

And if Infinite met them in Metropolis instead? But Knuckles didn't address that. Artemis tightened her grip on her meteor wispon.

After a few more words of encouragement, Knuckles dismissed them. Shadow stepped forward. "Hands on shoulders. Chaos control works in a chain, people. Everyone touches everyone else." Once they were ready, Shadow laid a hand on the nearest soldier's arm. "Chaos control!"

The world blurred and shifted. The green and brown of the jungle was replaced by the blue and white of metal and concrete. Artemis blinked and looked around.

Shadow had set them down in an alley between two buildings, where the locals were less likely to see them appear. It was a warm, bright afternoon, and the jungle humidity was missing. Artemis inhaled with delight, relishing the dry air in her lungs.

Skyscrapers towered all around, turning the streets into man-made canyons. They were clean, gleaming skyscrapers that reflected the blue mountains in the distance. Artemis had expected a dark, smoky city filled with pollution and robots.

Filling the sky a block away was the Egg Tower. It was a massive building, a hundred stories tall and taking up a whole city block by itself. A helicopter was just landing far, far up on its top.

"Wait here," Shadow said. "I'm going to scout the defenses."

"I was going to do that," young Sonic said.

The two hedgehogs stared at each other, two unbending egos clashing.

"You get back last, I'm leaving you," Shadow warned, and vanished in a chaos control. Young Sonic laughed and ran off.

Artemis shook her head. This whole mission made her uneasy. When pack leaders disagreed so intensely, it usually meant trouble for the lower ranks.

Young Sonic reappeared a few seconds before Shadow did. "No ground level entrance, guys, but there's some balconies on the third floor."

Shadow reappeared and glared at young Sonic, obviously disappointed to see him back already. "The main entrance is underground. Follow me. We'll destroy robots as we go."

Young Sonic pointed. "But we could grapple up to those balconies."

Shadow snarled at him, black spines bristling. "Who's in charge of this mission?"

"Not me!" young Sonic laughed, and dashed away.

Teeth bared, Shadow led the rush on the Egg Tower.

For a while, everything went well. Artemis helped destroy robots that stood guard, and they engaged in several short, hot firefights. It seemed that Eggman hadn't expected assault on his home base, and although the robots on guard were powerful, there weren't many of them.

A sniper up on a neighboring building had Fox Squad hiding behind a series of pillars, unable to move. Shadow had moved on with Lion and Eagle squads, and was too busy fighting around the other side of the building to deal with the sniper.

A green bird named Jet looked at Artemis. "What do you think? Flank him?"

"I'm good with my grapple," Artemis said. "Keep him distracted."

Jet nodded and dashed along the line of pillars, ducking in and out of cover. The sniper fired and barely missed, the huge slug tearing a chunk of concrete out of a pillar.

Artemis fired her grapple at a satellite dish on the rooftop across the street and sailed upward. The sniper robot was crouched at the roof's edge, curled over a gun longer than the robot was tall. It glanced up in surprise as Artemis blasted it with her meteor wispon.

Her team, below, broke out of cover and ran after the other squads. Rather than be left behind, Artemis swung on her grapple after them.

Someone fell in beside her in midair. Artemis found herself eye to eye with Infinite. The masked monster was flying along above the street, in silent pursuit of her squad. She swung beside him on her grapple, and for a second they looked at each other.

Her heart stuttered with panic. She had never been so close to him before, able to see her own reflection in his polished helmet. Was Honir hiding under there, laughing at her for trusting him? The red eye under the mask certainly widened in startled recognition.

Knuckles had been wrong. Infinite had stayed in Metropolis this time.

Infinite raised one hand. A globe of red energy filled his palm. It pulsed and the world turned red. An awful electronic ringing noise filled Artemis's head.

Then she was falling, her grapple cord gone slack - falling upward into the sky. She screamed and flailed, trying to right herself in the air. The ground had become a ceiling, the buildings hanging from it like stalactites. Below her was bottomless blue void, with clouds sprinkling it. How had Infinite done this? He had reversed gravity itself! Below, her companions screamed as they, too, fell into the sky.

Her grapple caught on a railing. Gasping, Artemis hauled herself in. Over the radio in her helmet, Vector the crocodile was yelling, "What was that? What just happened?"

"It was Infinite," Artemis panted, hauling herself along the railing, aiming for a doorway into the Egg Tower. "He used the Phantom Ruby on us."

The intercom broke into hysterical shouting. Artemis crawled through a doorway and sat on the ceiling of an alcove just inside. The ceiling here was nothing but ornamental arches, and crossing them would be difficult. Artemis swung across on her grapple instead. She slipped, lost her hold, crashed through a window, and once more fell into the endless abyss of the sky -

Infinite was there, below her in the sky, once more with his hands full of red energy. As she fell toward him, he laughed - a dark, cruel chuckle. The Phantom Ruby pulsed.

Gravity switched again, but this time perpendicular to the ground. Artemis fell sideways and landed on the side of the Egg Tower. All the buildings seemed to lay in her path like logs in a river, built weirdly sideways.

"Our troops are scattering," Shadow's voice said in the radio in her helmet. "I can't keep them together."

"Everybody, fall back!" Vector said. "I mean ... if you can. It's all gone sideways."

Artemis ran along the building, looking for an open window, a doorway, anything. Infinite would switch gravity back any minute, and she'd fall to her death. A mixture of terror and fury pounded inside her. How dare Infinite do this to them. How dare he!

She rounded a corner and halted, a scream catching in her throat.

Rearing above the buildings was a giant Infinite. His body and limbs had been stretched to impossible length, and his masked head was the side of a house. His single eye flicked toward Artemis. One awful clawed hand swung in her direction.

The young wolf leaped into space as the giant hand smashed into the building, shattering glass and sending mortar flying. She grappled onto a vent sticking out of a neighboring building and swung across the void between. There was plenty of time to study the giant, slender Infinite, the way he watched her, the way he moved with deceptive slowness.

 _Don't believe everything you see._

Gravity reverted to normal. Suddenly the ground was downward, as it had always been. Artemis was swinging between buildings, but now her arc was too low. She crashed into the pavement and rolled until she hit a curb. Her helmet made a cracking sound. Stars exploded inside her head. The world went dark and quiet for a while.

When she awoke, everything was quiet. No radio chatter. No crazy Phantom Ruby noise. The magenta wolf sat up with a groan. Her helmet poked her. She pulled it off and found that the outer metal layer had split when she crashed. Her head ached, but at least she was alive. Slowly Artemis climbed to her feet, looking around for the giant Infinite. There was no sign of it.

"Hello?" she said into the radio in the helmet. "Anybody?"

Silence. They must have fled or been killed. She'd been abandoned once more. Desolation settled over her. This kept happening, every time they met Infinite. He was too crazy strong. Reversing gravity? None of them knew he could do that.

The Egg Tower stood nearby, taunting her with its polished glass and steel. She could still try to get inside and retrieve the emeralds. There was even a broken window on the second floor, perhaps made by herself when gravity had been changing. Or maybe giant Infinite's claw. How much of that had been real? She had no idea.

She grappled onto the broken window and swung into it, her arm and shoulder aching from using it so much. There were no robots, no people. The whole tower was empty and silent. Artemis crouched in a hallway, looking and listening.

Something warm was in her pocket. The tiny Ruby. She pulled it out. It was glowing and flickering a little, the way it did when she used it to summon her forest. She must still be inside the Phantom Ruby's construct. No wonder she was totally alone. Infinite had isolated her on purpose.

Two could play at that game. Artemis gripped the tiny Ruby and focused on her forest: that beautiful forest with the hanging moss, the flowers, the singing birds.

The electronic noise of the Phantom Ruby blasted her ears. The walls wavered and fizzed before her eyes. They changed into trees for a moment, then returned to being walls. The Phantom Ruby was too strong for her little gem to break out. In the hazy, wavering, in-between world, she saw Infinite stalking toward her. He was actually walking, head lowered, fists clenched.

She reached for her wispon, but it wasn't on her belt. She had lost it somewhere. Infinite was coming for her and she was unarmed.

Artemis ran along the hallway and ducked into a side room. This was a large space, maybe intended for offices. Sunny windows lined one side of the room with a view of the Metropolis skyline. There was nothing else but white floor and echoing, empty space.

And suddenly, Infinite was there, too.


	11. Chapter 11: Prototypes

Infinite had killed so many people that he had lost track of them. They blurred together in his mind into a single screaming face, begging for mercy, sometimes begging for death. He gave it to them. After all, the only escape from the Phantom Ruby's madness was to cease existing. It manipulated their brainwaves to the end, engulfing them in endless horror.

He couldn't believe the nerve of the Resistance - sneaking into Metropolis itself, attacking the heart of Eggman's Empire. He'd grant them the death they so obviously craved.

He was supposed to be helping with the Adabat invasion, but he had remained behind for another day. He'd claimed that he was practicing with the Phantom Ruby. In reality, he was still sore from Blaze's kick, and the Ruby-creature clinging to his chest had made it worse. So he had been resting when he noticed the invaders.

Blasted insects. He had a war to run, and now he had to deal with the Resistance, too.

It was purely bad temper that gave him the idea to switch gravity on them. He barely had to lift a finger - they harmed themselves bouncing around the landscape, believing themselves falling off the face of the globe. But it was the Ruby's idea to terrorize them with giant versions of himself. The Ruby was full of good ideas.

Nobody but Blaze had ever come close to harming him. Shadow didn't count - Infinite hadn't yet been Infinite when the bastard had taken his eye. Even Shadow was down there now, fleeing in terror, trying to rally his troops as best as he could. And Sonic, little fool, just as afraid as the rest of them.

But there was that one wolf. For an instant, Infinite flew alongside her. Her eyes, the shape of her face, stood out from the masses of people he had slain. He had seen her before. She must have been one of the ones he let go free when he had more appetite for fear than death.

He thought he had killed her when he fooled her into crashing into the ground. Losing interest, he pursued the rest of the Resistance, harrying them with robot constructs and duplicates of himself, so they had no doubt about who had defeated them.

When the wolf-girl awakened, the Phantom Ruby told him so. There was a single mind left in the reality field, and it hoped to torment her. Infinite agreed that this was a good idea, and together they went hunting.

He caught up to the girl inside the Egg Tower. She tried to hide in an unused room. It had plenty of space for constructs, and the Ruby suggested many.

"So," Infinite said, "I wish for a challenge, and the universe sends me a trembling child."

The magenta wolf drew herself up, fists clenched. "I'm not afraid of you!"

Infinite shot right up to her and whispered in her ear, "Would you rather flee again?"

She backed away a step, unnerved by his proximity. The pathetic weakling didn't even have a weapon this time. He expected her to turn and run, or beg for her life with tears. So many other people had done it, he had come to expect it.

Instead, she did the last thing he expected. The wolf grabbed his mask and tried to tear it off.

Infinite sprang backward, clutching his mask, momentarily blinded as the eye-hole was swiveled away from his eye. His connection with the Phantom Ruby wavered in his complete, utter distraction. Nobody had ever brazenly grabbed his mask before.

When he returned his mask to its place and he could see again, he stared, dumbfounded. The bright, empty room had been replaced by forest. Great gnarled trees loomed overhead, and moss hung from their limbs like whiskers. Delicate purple and yellow flowers sprinkled the mossy forest floor. Sunbeams dappled the leaves.

The young wolf stood in the middle of this, grinning, nose wrinkled and teeth bared.

"You did this?" Infinite exclaimed. "But how?" He was the only one with access to the Phantom Ruby. There was no way this stupid child could possibly use it this way.

"This is mine," the wolf said. "You have to play by my rules."

The nearest tree reached out a branch and tried to snare Infinite in claw-like twigs. Infinite twisted aside. "Enough!" He drew on the Phantom Ruby and erased the forest construct. It faded slowly, reluctantly. His trained, hardened will encountered the wolf's passionate, angry will. He overcame her, but slower than he would have liked. The empty room returned.

"You think you can play my game?" Infinite said. Red cubes formed around his hands. "Very well. First, there will be fear. Then there will be pain. Then, at least the fear and pain will end."

The room blinked red. It changed from being an empty room to an active missile silo. A bank of car-sized missiles lined the far wall. On the other side was a short ledge and a drop into nothing.

The wolf ran as each missile launched in turn, narrowly missing her. She teetered on the edge of the drop, arms waving. Then she looked at Infinite and raised a fist.

Her will countered his, fierce, undisciplined, and surprisingly fearless. The missile silo fizzed away into static, and they were back in the forest.

"Why are you not afraid?" he snarled, stalking forward.

The wolf waved a hand. Vines snaked out of nowhere and entangled his feet and legs. As Infinite struggled with them, the wolf said, "I know who you are. I know what you've been doing. I'll never fear you now."

Infinite froze, blinking. She knew who he was? Impossible. His old identity was dead and gone. What had he been doing that this child might possibly know about and not be frightened? He killed people as a job and tortured them as a hobby.

"I have the power to crush you," he replied, spreading both arms. The full power of the Phantom Ruby focused on her, blasting her mind, altering her brainwaves, making her see only what the Ruby desired. This time it dropped her into an iron cage, barely large enough for her to stand in.

The wolf laughed. She dared laugh! The sound infuriated Infinite. Nobody had ever laughed at him before. "I'll tear your throat out with my bare hands." He stalked to the cage, fingers curled into claws.

The wolf fixed her yellow eyes on him, unafraid, mocking. Her will struck his again, pushing through the Ruby's influence. The cage flickered into red cubes.

"I know you, Honir," she said. "And you'll never catch me."

The wolf turned and ran. The forest formed in a space around her, rippling with her in a very small reality bubble inside Infinite's greater reality field. She fled the tower, taking her sliver of forest with her, like a shield around her mind.

Infinite stood still, stunned. Honir. She had thought he was Honir.

Slowly he relaxed his hold on the Ruby. His reality bubble faded. Once more he stood in the empty room, which had always been a real place.

"I should kill you," he said to the Lesser.

"What have I done now?" the Lesser said, sounding weary.

Infinite's rage exploded out of him. "You told her your name? You taught her not to fear me? How dare you! You are a dead dog, Lesser!"

The Lesser said nothing.

"She does not fear you, and she thinks we're the same person!" Infinite bellowed. "What have you been doing behind my back? What lies have you projected?"

"Who are you talking about?"

"That magenta she-wolf."

There was a long silence. "She thinks that I'm you?" the Lesser said, very softly. "That is ... tragic."

"She thinks that I'm as weak as you!" Infinite raged. "She used the Ruby's power against me, somehow! Are you lending her power? Or training her?"

"You know I have no power," the Lesser said quietly. "It's why I am the lesser of us. As for training, if I could, I would teach all your enemies to resist the Ruby's control. But I cannot even do that."

Infinite projected a construct of the Lesser for the sole purpose of killing it. Watching his brother die and dissolve into red cubes was not as satisfying as he had expected, however. "You taught her not to fear me. You know the Ruby barely functions without fear to fuel it."

"Why, Elder," the Lesser said with exaggerated patience, "does it irk you that a single person on Mobius does not tremble at your very presence?"

Infinite stood still, fists clenched, heart beating against the gem in his chest. The gem's light flared a little with each heartbeat. "Tell me her name."

"Elder," the Lesser said quietly, "I refuse."

Infinite raised a fist. "That's an order!"

"You have no authority over me, Elder. I will protect at least one life from you as long as I can."

A crooked smile spread over Infinite's face behind the mask. "So, it's a game, then. I enjoy games. And believe me, Honir, I will win."

* * *

Artemis ran from Infinite as an act of defiance, not fear. She expected him to chase after her, smite her with handfuls of fire, wrap her in more illusions. Instead, he let her go.

This unnerved her more than if he had chased her. She ran through her imaginary forest, her tiny Ruby clenched in her fist, leaping down jumbles of rocks that were probably stairs in real life, creeping through thickets and weaving through brambles. Her forest kept giving her wild, tangled scenery, as if this city intruded on the forest in some way. Or maybe it was the effect of Infinite's Ruby, reaching into her little bubble and twisting it.

Artemis ran until a stitch developed in her side and her breath tore at her lungs. She crept into a sheltered spot to rest and cautiously let the forest illusion fade enough to see the real world.

She was resting in the doorway of a clothing shop under a fancy awning. Normal-looking Mobians walked here and there, doing their shopping. Some of them stared at Artemis. She combed her fingers through her head fur and tried to look a little less like a ragged soldier who had escaped certain death.

Now that she was sitting still, she had time to think about what she had done. She had challenged Infinite himself to a battle of minds. Well, it helped that Infinite was Honir. She simply pictured his real face any time she looked at his mask. He certainly hadn't liked it when she tried to pull it off him. Some of the illusions floated through her memory, like the missile silo. Infinite was massively strong. He also didn't favor his arm or side at all. He must be faking the injuries.

Instead of feeling scared, she was overwhelmed and tired, and felt like crying. Her friend had tried to kill her. He had been going to tear her throat out. She had been able to fight him only because she forgot to fear him. Besides that, she was stranded in Metropolis with no way to get home.

Honir had been serious when he told her about the Avian tower. He would be waiting for her there as Infinite. She couldn't go there. But she still walked out from under the awning and peered at the surrounding buildings until she spotted the tower. It was an anomaly among the super-modern buildings, because the park in the dome on top was more like an entire forest. The sun gleamed on the glass, and the whole place shone like a beacon. A line of aircraft were landing and taking off. Maybe it was Metropolis's airport?

Her tired feet carried her in the tower's direction. It was the only place she knew in this city. If Infinite showed up again, she'd fight him again, that was all. But she really hoped he'd given up.

The journey passed in a blur of tiredness. Walking by a delicious-smelling cafe reminded her that she'd had a light breakfast and no lunch. She had no money. How could she possibly afford a flight out of the city? It was such a long way to Adabat.

She turned a corner and saw Honir further up the street. The black jackal stood half-turned, as if looking over his shoulder for her, an anxious expression on his face. He beckoned to her, then ran down the sidewalk.

Artemis halted. Infinite. He must be luring her into a trap. She watched as Honir ran to the end of the street. He looked back, saw her standing there, and beckoned frantically.

Artemis shook her head at him.

Honir pointed across the street. Artemis looked and saw Shadow on the far side, walking away from her, head turning from side to side, as if looking for someone.

"Shadow!" She bolted across the street, heedless of traffic, and sprinted after the black hedgehog. Honir had vanished, but doubtless he was lurking nearby. Artemis didn't care. "Shadow!"

The black hedgehog turned at last. The familiar condescending smirk spread across his face. As she reached him, he said, "About time you showed up. They sent me back to collect your corpse."

"I fought Infinite," she panted. "He was right across the street a minute ago. Let's go!"

Shadow's head jerked up, his smirk vanishing. He scanned the other side of the street, then grabbed her arm. "Chaos control!"

The world blurred and slid away. Artemis breathed the thick tropical air before she saw the trees and wet earth outside the familiar bunker. The sky was brilliant blue with dazzling white clouds sailing across it. Thunder rumbled in the distance - or was that gun fire?

Seeing her expression, Shadow said, "Zamon's forces are fighting Eggman at the border. Touch and go. Come on, we need your report. Nobody has ever beaten Infinite before."

* * *

"So," Amy Rose said, "our intelligence is finally making sense."

It was hours later. The Zamon battle continued miles away, but the surviving Resistance troops had been relieved by a fleet of Chun-nan airships. Eggman's army was retreating, and the weary Mobian armies took heart at their first victory.

Both older and younger Sonic occupied chairs in the command center, Tails beside them. Shadow paced back and forth, watching the wall of screens with feeds from the battle. Silver sat in a chair behind the door, as he preferred, opening and closing it with his psychokinesis. Knuckles stood at the table in the room's center, reading and rereading a transcript of Artemis's report, Amy beside him. Vector the crocodile was there, one arm in a sling, but Charmy and Espio were out on a mission. The room was quite crowded.

"What's the news?" older Sonic said. "I heard Artemis fought Infinite and survived."

"She did," Knuckles said. "But only because she's using a Phantom Ruby prototype."

Everyone straightened. "What?"

Knuckles wore a satisfied smile. "Looks like we're gaining an edge, guys. Tails, did you examine the Ruby?"

"Yes sir," Tails said. "It's the size of a walnut and made of ordinary glass, as best I can tell. It's tuned to Artemis's brain waves. I couldn't get it to respond to anybody else."

"Those are the prototypes Infinite was destroying," younger Sonic said. "He called them the type D prototypes. Eggman acted like they weren't very good."

"It's the closest any of us has gotten to the Phantom Ruby," Tails pointed out. "Artemis says that she can use it to project a forest."

"Huh," Knuckles said, rubbing his chin. "Obviously, Infinite can do a lot more than that. Her report says that he changed gravity, the room she was in, projected giant versions of himself-"

"I saw those," young Sonic said. "Super creepy."

"-and enclosed her in a cage," Knuckles continued. "But she was able to overwrite his illusions with her own. She specified that it was important to laugh."

"Laugh?" Shadow said, moving to the table with a scowl. "The kid was exhausted. You're sure we can trust her judgment?"

Knuckles shrugged. "That's what it says on this report."

"What," Tails said, "do you think the Phantom Ruby feeds on fear?"

The group muttered to each other. Amy spoke up, shaking back her pink spines. "I think that's a good hypothesis. Infinite has taken great pains to project soldiers with upside down uniforms, for example. This entire campaign has been one of fear."

"I could see that," older Sonic said.

Younger Sonic said nothing. He stared at Amy with an adoring expression.

"Fear," Silver mused. "Yes, Infinite's certainly worked hard to demoralize and frighten. He terrorizes people simply so word of him will spread."

"So," older Sonic said, jumping up and stretching his legs, "what we need to know is how to break the Phantom Ruby for good."

Younger Sonic tore his eyes from Amy and looked around. "Or de-power it. Did you notice how strong Infinite was today? I bet you fifty bucks that they plugged the Sol emeralds into it somehow."

Older Sonic raised an eyebrow. "You have fifty bucks?"

Amy cleared her throat. "We need to learn exactly how the Phantom Ruby is being used. For all we know, it's powered by Infinite's biochemistry."

"I can start a hack into Eggman's mainframe!" Tails said cheerfully. "That might give us enough to get started."

Knuckles nodded. "Do that."

The fox jumped up and went to the main computer, where he commandeered one of the observation screens.

"In the meantime," Knuckles said, "we didn't retrieve the Sol emeralds today. We lost fifteen soldiers to Infinite's attack. If we don't take the Phantom Ruby out the equation, we may never win this war. Zamon only survives because of reinforcements from Chun-nan. Infinite wasn't there. But when he does show up, all he has to do is make us think that gravity is reversed, and Eggman will walk in and take it all."

"Don't forget that nasty plot Eggman mentioned," young Sonic added. "He thought he would win in three weeks. We're down to two weeks now."

Amy nodded. "I'd been wondering about that. What's he planning? I'm sure that powering up the Phantom Ruby has something to do with it." She looked over her shoulder. "Tails, how's it coming?"

"Eggman's firewalls are blocking my queries," Tails said. "Trying a new approach. Standby."

* * *

"You didn't tell the Commander about me," Honir said.

Artemis looked up with a start. She had been sitting on her bunk, playing with her small Ruby, trying to process the day's events. Mostly, she was tired and wishing she could go home.

Then the black jackal looked into her room. Artemis grabbed a lightning wispon, which she had kept close ever since arriving back at the bunker, and aimed it at the jackal. "Stay back."

Honir stood there in the doorway, ears flattened. "You didn't tell."

The young wolf gazed at him, Ruby in one hand, wispon in the other. "I didn't, no."

Honir raised both hands to show he was unarmed. "Would you like an explanation? I promise I won't hurt you."

Artemis motioned to the chair against the far wall of her room. The room was so small that it was only two feet from the bed. She covered him with her wispon as he walked to it and sat down. She closed the door and stood against it, never taking her eyes off her enemy.

"I'm not Infinite," Honir said.

Artemis bristled, tightening her grip on her wispon. "Yes, you are. I saw you messing with the spot where your jewel goes, on your chest. You're a construct."

"I'm Infinite's brother," Honir said.

The magenta wolf blinked, trying to process this. "Yeah, right. What, you're twins, and he's the evil twin?"

"He's five years older than me," Honir said. "Remember when I told you that I was with a group of jackals who left Mazuri to seek our fortunes?"

"Yes. Probably all lies." Artemis spoke harshly, but inside, her heart hurt. She had liked Honir, and she still wanted to like him. Any minute now and his mask would appear.

Honir clasped his hands in his lap and gazed at them. "My brother and I were part of that group. We joined Eggman as mercenaries." When Artemis blanched, he looked up, holding her eyes. "I'm not proud of it. We harassed people and stole supplies. Shadow put an end to our activities, though. We couldn't fight him - he was too strong. He left most of our team maimed or dead. My brother is blind in one eye. And I ... well. It doesn't matter. We went to Eggman. Instead of medical attention, he offered us incredible power. All we had to do was submit to a little experiment."

Artemis's arm was growing tired from holding up the wispon. She slid down to sit against the door, resting the wispon on her knees, covering Honir from a more relaxed position. His story made an awful sort of sense, and she wanted so badly to trust Honir that she was willing to hear him out. "Go on."

"Eggman had been making copies of this new gem he had discovered," Honir went on, slumping in the chair. "He had several different kinds that he tried on us. When he found ones that resonated with our brainwaves, he integrated them into our bodies."

"So you do have a Ruby?" Artemis asked.

Honir nodded. "I didn't integrate as well as Infinite did. You can't see it, but I have a scar down my chest, under the fur. My gem is inside me. Infinite's sticks out a little. It's against his heart."

That red gem in Infinite's chest ... Artemis felt the urge to gag. "So when Blaze hit his gem ...?"

"He's been sick for days," Honir said with a sad smile. "He was recovering in Metropolis when you arrived."

"You knew!" Artemis burst out. "Fifteen people died, and you knew Infinite was there!"

"I tried to talk the Commander out of it," Honir said. "I can't tell people who I really am or how I know things. I joined the Resistance to stop my brother. If they kick me out or execute me, my only chance to do that is gone."

Artemis shook her head. Confusion and anger swirled inside her. "So, what's your name, then? You real name?"

"Honir is my real name," he said, bowing his head. "But Eggman calls me Finite."

"Infinite and Finite," Artemis said slowly. "Do you not have powers?"

"No," Honir said, resting his head against the wall. "My experiment failed. The only reason Eggman didn't terminate me is because Infinite keeps me around to fight with."

"But," Artemis began, and hesitated. "I saw you in Metropolis. Now you're in Adabat. You're a construct, aren't you?"

Honir's yellow eyes darted around the room. Then he closed his eyes and sighed. "Yes. I'm a projection."

"Where are you, really?"

"In the Egg Tower," Honir said. "You were very close to me today."

"So you can't be hurt," Artemis said triumphantly. "You were faking the bandages."

He shook his head. "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. To give force to my mass, I must be able to receive forces that act upon me. I really was hurt. But it wasn't Metal Sonic."

"What was it, then?"

Honir crossed his arms and smiled. "It doesn't matter. Can you accept that I'm here to help, and that I'm not my despicable brother?"

Artemis considered his story. It was plausible, and yet the Phantom Ruby had taught her to question everything. "I don't know. You just told me that you're not real. You might be Infinite's projection. I have no way of knowing if he has a brother or not. Tell me something that Infinite couldn't possibly know."

"I tried to warn your pack to leave Willow Springs," Honir said quietly. "Your friends were bleaching your fur with an expensive brand of fur treatment. Vogue Wave, wasn't it?"

It was Artemis's turn to bow her head. His words had brought back that innocent afternoon on the lawn, when her family and pack had been intact, and they had laughed at Eggman and Honir. She touched one of the white stripes on her arm. She hadn't looked at them in days. They seemed so childish now.

"Okay," she said softly, lowering her wispon at last. "You might not be Infinite."

"I'm the reason why he didn't chase you today," Honir said. "When you called him Honir, he had to stop and scream at me. He was terribly offended."

For the first time, Artemis grinned. "Really?"

Honir grinned, too. "Really. But he's now trying to kill you, personally. You need to be very careful to avoid him."

She gestured at him. "You won't tell him where I am?"

"I'm trying to protect you from him," Honir said. "Above all else, you must not fear him. Your fearlessness today is what ruined his illusions. And laughing at him. He can't stand that."

Artemis's grin widened. "I can live with that. And ... I didn't tell the Commander about you because I didn't know what to think. I really didn't want you to be Infinite."

Honir nodded. "I'm his opposite. Helpless and useless. I'm only the Lesser."


	12. Chapter 12: Scheduled for termination

"Shadow," Sonic said. "Wake up."

The black hedgehog started and sat up. He had fallen asleep in a chair in the command center, head propped on one fist. Older Sonic stood beside him, smirking. "I didn't know the great Shadow ever slept."

Shadow sat up, trying to shake off the lethargy that had settled over him. To his astonishment, the command room was empty. He jumped to his feet. "Where is everyone?"

"Dinner," Sonic said. "Come on, my treat this time."

Shadow followed Sonic out of the command room and up the stairs to the kitchen. It was more like a large pantry with a microwave and an industrial-sized refrigerator. Every inch of the walls were lined with shelves, and the shelves held food supplies. Everyone had made their dinner and gone outside to eat, so it was only the two hedgehogs scrounging a meal.

True to his word, Sonic assembled a plate full of chili dogs. "The chili's canned, but it's better than nothing," he said, passing Shadow a plate.

They sat on packing crates and ate in silence. Shadow had a hard time chewing, for some reason. The food was like dry plaster in his teeth. He swallowed mechanically, gazed at the plate in his lap ...

He jerked awake with Sonic's hand on his shoulder, pushing him back upright. He'd dozed off again.

"Shads," Sonic said, studying him with worried seriousness. "You're exhausted."

Shadow shrugged him off. "I'm fine." He crammed half a chili dog into his mouth as proof. But he didn't want to eat. His stomach wasn't empty or full, it just ... was. The thought of crawling into his cot sounded so much better than food. He just wanted to be alone in the quiet for a while.

Sonic wolfed his own dinner, watching Shadow out of the corner of his eye. After a moment he said, "You're not sick, are you?"

"No." Shadow set his half-finished plate aside. He leaned his elbows on his knees and rubbed his face. "I've done nothing but chaos control groups of people for weeks. If I had a chaos emerald, I could recharge. But without one ..." He trailed off. There was no more to say. His powerful chaos aura was usually enough, but he was burning out his own cells in service to the Resistance.

Sonic's ears flicked back and forth in time with his thoughts. He nodded to himself. "All right. Shads, go sleep. I'll talk to Knux. We'll see if Chun-nan will loan us some airships. We can attack Metropolis that way."

Shadow lifted his head. "Sonic, no. I can still do this. I can get us anywhere without leaving a trail for Eggman."

"Shadow." Sonic rose to his feet and faced him. The blue hedgehog was too thin, his fur ragged, but his muscles were wiry and tough. He looked like a warrior who had lost more battles than he had won. He held Shadow's gaze, his green eyes cool and logical. "You know what chaos power does to you. If you keep on like this, eventually, you won't come out on the other end of a teleport. You'll be lost between."

Shadow studied the floor. A flicker of the panic he had felt as a child danced through him-back when the Professor pressed a glowing green gem into his hand and said, " _Now, don't die."_

"We're a team," Sonic said. "You've covered for me as I've been healing. Now it's my turn to cover for you. Get some rest. It's okay."

The black hedgehog finally looked up. "Make my excuses to the Commander."

"I will."

Shadow got up and went straight to his bunk. He stretched out and reached down to unstrap his shoes. He was asleep before he could work the clasp.

* * *

Knuckles was eating his way through his third can of pasta when Sonic approached. Sonic hesitated and looked around. The rest of the Resistance sat on the ground a short distance away, leaving Knuckles by himself.

Sonic took a seat on the log beside his friend. "How come you're not with the others?"

The echidna shook his head. "I'm the commander, Sonic. They're in awe of me. Nobody hangs around me anymore, except to talk war stuff."

Sonic sat there a moment, taking this in. "Well, hope you don't mind me butting into your sphere of awesome."

"You're welcome to it," Knuckles said. "Did you find Shadow?"

"Yeah. He was asleep in the command room. He's dead on his feet, Knux. He could barely eat. I sent him to bed."

Knuckles slowly straightened, his violet eyes troubled. "He's the only one who can use chaos control. I guess I've taxed him too much. How long until he recovers?"

"I don't know," Sonic said. "I've never seen him like that. I think we'd better see about scoring a couple of airships alongside the Sunset. Attack Metropolis properly."

Knuckles nodded. "We've got to get those Sol emeralds. And the Chaos emeralds, too. Tails said he found records of them under the Egg Tower in some kind of reactor."

Tails, hearing his name mentioned, got up and trotted over. "Hi!" he said. "Yeah, I was able to get into the base level of Eggman's computers, but I'll need console access to get any deeper. He's using chaos emeralds to power the Phantom Ruby."

Sonic clenched his fists and growled. "No wonder Infinite routed you guys. The Phantom Ruby is bad enough by itself, but with chaos emeralds, too?"

"And Sol emeralds," Tails added. "What's the plan?"

Knuckles gazed into the middle distance, considering strategies. "My intelligence team advised a small, quick strike team instead of sending three squads. They were right. So what if we turn that on its head? We send in airships to challenge Eggman's defenses. While he's focused on that, a small team sneaks in from the other direction." The echidna looked around, as if surprised to find himself outdoors. "I need my maps."

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles went back inside the bunker. Young Sonic jumped up and followed them. Artemis did, too.

Knuckles went to the command room and pulled out his map of Metropolis and the surrounding area. "Okay, the Egg Tower is here, in the northern part, near the volcano. The city is protected from the south by this mountain range. We'll take airships up behind it, using it as cover, and take Eggman by surprise. He has an airbase here, and a robotics assembly plant here, that we could bomb. There's a lot of civilian buildings nearby, so I'll need precision bombers. I don't want collateral damage." He reached across the map. "Meanwhile, highway 85 on the east side goes right by the Egg Tower. Sonic, I want you to run this route. Fast and inconspicuous."

"Which one?" young Sonic said with a grin.

Knuckles jerked a thumb at older Sonic. "Him. I'll get to you in a minute."

Older Sonic ran a finger along the highway. "I'll have to cross the Red Gate Bridge over the river, here. Eggman always has it guarded. No way I'll cross without attracting attention."

"He'll be too busy with us to worry about you," Knuckles said. "You're fast. You'll get by. Now, Tails and young Sonic. I need computer hacks. I need exact positions of emeralds, exact location of the Phantom Ruby, everything you can find. We're going to take the emeralds and blow the reactor. That'll put a dent in Eggman's war effort."

"I need to use one of Eggman's personal mainframes," Tails replied. "I can't break his firewalls from the outside, and his ICE almost tracked my location last time."

Young Sonic raised an eyebrow. "ICE?"

"Intruder countermeasures," Tails replied. "Defensive AI. Imagine Metal Sonic on the Internet."

Both Sonics winced.

"Where could you get mainframe access?" Knuckles asked.

"The Egg Tower, naturally," Tails said. "But I'm pretty sure that the Egg Titans have it, too. You know how they have a whole command post in the cockpit."

"You want to capture an Egg Titan?" Knuckles said, raising an eyebrow.

Young Sonic laughed. "I can totally do it. Just make sure you guys don't blow it up once we're inside." He gave Tails a high five.

Knuckles pointed at Older Sonic. "You need backup. Who are you taking?"

Sonic glanced around the room, biting his lip. "I'd say Shadow, but he's down for the count. You guys need Silver, so ... Artemis, want to come?"

The magenta wolf looked uncertain. "You'll be running, Sonic. I'm not as fast as you."

He nodded. "Yeah, but there's traffic and stuff on highway 85. I can't go too fast. And we'll be trying to avoid notice. I think you'll be fine."

She grinned. "Why don't we ride in a truck? I imagine there's lots of freight being shipped in and out. That'd be inconspicuous."

"And slow," Sonic pointed out. But he considered the idea, a smile spreading across his face. "If we leave early enough, I imagine it might work. Knux, get Amy. We need to set up a smuggling."

* * *

"All forces retreat to Eggmanland," Eggman barked into a microphone. "Evacuate the city around the Egg Tower."

A burst of confused voices replied. Eggman shut them off. He was in his control room at the top of the Egg Tower, a huge, spacious room like an air traffic control tower. Two walls were covered in monitors, and the other two featured various consoles and control panels. He could control the entire city from this room.

"Metal Sonic," Eggman said into another mic, "come to the control room, please."

He swiveled his chair around and found Infinite floating in the middle of the room, his red aura curling around him. Eggman's neck prickled. He hadn't known the monster was in the same room with him.

 _One day_ , he told himself, _this weapon will turn on its master. When that day comes, watch out._

"Yes, Infinite?" Eggman said.

"Why the retreat, Doctor?" Infinite said smoothly. "We had Zamon on a platter. All it needed was a little touch of the Phantom Ruby."

"A security breach in my network," Eggman replied. "Resistance hackers, no doubt. They accessed files that show the location of the emerald reactor. Now they're marshaling airships in Zamon."

"It may mean nothing," Infinite said.

"Perhaps," Eggman replied, stroking his mustache. "I didn't invade half the world by being stupid. My forces are spread thin, occupying Apotos, Spagonia, and the Acorn Kingdom. The latter in particular has been troublesome, resisting my rule and defying orders."

Infinite raised a hand and clenched a fist, slowly, as if crushing an insect.

"No," Eggman growled. "They surrendered. I'll honor our agreement to subjugate only."

"Still," Infinite said, turning and gazing out a window with his hands behind his back. "I was looking forward to the Adabat campaign. That princess, Blaze the Cat, was going to suffer in such varied ways for what she did to me."

Eggman's gaze sharpened. "What did she do to you?"

There was a short silence. Infinite tensed without changing positions, going completely still in midair. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does," Eggman snapped. "Are you injured?" He stepped toward the masked creature.

Infinite flung up one hand. A blazing red shield appeared around him, rippling with the ruby's power. "No. I'm not weak." His voice was full of menace.

Eggman halted, unnerved by this display. His creation was well on the road to rebellion, indeed.

At that moment, Metal Sonic entered the room. The door had barely opened when the robot observed that his master was in danger. Quicker than the eye could follow, the blue robot crossed the room and planted himself between Infinite and Eggman.

"Nice to see you, too," Eggman said to the robot. "Infinite, stand down." His fingers stirred toward the recall switch he wore on his wrist.

Infinite saw the gesture. Immediately his shield disappeared. He sank out of the air to stand on the floor, once more a meek, submissive mortal, and not a demigod.

"Good," Eggman said. "Metal Sonic, at ease."

The pointed blue robot shifted his stance slightly, but did not leave his place between Eggman and Infinite.

"Why is this toy necessary?" Infinite said, gesturing at the robot with one claw. "I have his data already." He spread his fingers. Five other Metal Sonics appeared in a row behind him, all much shinier and sleeker than the real robot.

"The Resistance is figuring out how your illusions work," Eggman replied. "They'll be expecting them. Imagine their surprise when a fake Metal Sonic turns out to be the real one."

Infinite inclined his steel head. "An interesting strategy."

"You will protect the Egg Tower," Eggman said. "Fast track our little surprise. I need it ready for when the rodents show up, thinking they're going to pillage my gem collection. What word from Finite?"

"He stopped reporting information weeks ago," Infinite purred. "I believe he has switched sides."

Eggman rubbed his forehead. "You backstabbing jackals. Can't you keep him in line?"

"He has so little power," Infinite said scornfully. "He can barely manifest an image of himself, let alone anything else. He whines about peace."

"Terminate him, then," Eggman said. "I don't need any more leaks."

Infinite turned his head, fixing his good eye on Eggman with a strange stare. "He is my brother."

"Yes," Eggman said with exaggerated patience. "And you jackals take pride in murdering each other."

Infinite was silent a long moment. Eggman thought he was going to argue. Instead, the monster said simply, "It will be done."

"Good. Now get out there and build an army of constructs to defend this place."

Infinite floated off the floor and zipped out the door, leaving a fading trail of red cubes behind him.

Metal Sonic spoke for the first time, his voice a robotic monotone. "Requesting permission to kill Infinite."

"Permission denied," Eggman said quietly, resting a hand on the metal head. "He is useful, despite his power trip. I want you to patrol the Red Gate Bridge. You have your targets on file. If any of them attempt to cross that bridge, that is an act of war. And you know what to do during war."

"Yes sir."

* * *

The night before the Resistance began their next attack on Eggman, they held a funeral for the people whom Infinite had killed.

They buried the fifteen fallen soldiers in the Zamon military graveyard. It was a quiet, park-like place with white tombstones in dozens of rows. The Zamon military was burying their dead, too, so they combined ceremonies.

Artemis cried until her head ached and her eyes were swollen. As each body was wrapped in a flag and lowered into the grave, she grieved afresh for her family and friends, the loss of every life taken by this terrible war. The rest of the Resistance was very solemn, and many tears were shed.

As the last body was being buried, Artemis found Honir. The black jackal stood at the back of the Resistance soldiers, almost invisible in the darkness. She only found him because she heard him crying as she was walking away, trying to compose herself.

"Honir?" the magenta wolf whispered, waving a hand around so she didn't crash into him.

His white muzzle turned toward her, and he caught her hand. "Here."

Artemis stepped up beside him and put an arm around his shoulders. He was a construct, so it didn't matter if she touched him. But he certainly felt real. He was warm and his shoulders shook.

"All these people," Honir wept. "I should have stopped Infinite. I'm responsible."

"It will take all of us to stop him," Artemis said, her voice low and scratchy. "And it's not your fault."

"I should have warned the commander more clearly," Honir whispered, wiping his face. "I should have worked harder. It's not just these people ... it's everyone Infinite has killed. I should have tried harder to stop him."

"What about tomorrow?" Artemis whispered urgently. "What's Infinite going to do?"

Honir sniffed, trying to calm down. "He's defending the Egg Tower, like before. Eggman's told him to spawn in his army. Lots of troops."

"No reverse gravity?"

"I don't know." Honir's voice was suddenly bitter. "Infinite keeps his secrets. But ... but Artemis ..." He turned suddenly, catching her hand. His hand was warm and slightly damp. "Please, try to find me in the Egg Tower. Before you detonate the reactor."

A brand-new horror gripped Artemis. Honir was in the Egg Tower. She had been looking forward to the Resistance taking all the emeralds, hoping the tower would explode and burn, ending the Eggman Empire forever. _Tomorrow, this war might end._

But Honir was inside it.

She gulped. "I'll try. I want to see you. The real you."

"I look pretty much like this," Honir said. "Except barefoot. And ... well, it doesn't matter."

"Can you project yourself and help me find you?"

A shudder ran through Honir. Artemis felt it in his hold on her hand.

"Maybe," he whispered. "Oh, Elder ..."

"What?"

Honir stood still, head turned as if listening to voices that Artemis couldn't hear. After a moment, he drew a long, unsteady breath. "You may not be rescuing me after all."

"Why?"

He gave a single, sad laugh. "I've been scheduled for termination."

Artemis stiffened in panic, gripping his hand, as if that could keep him with her. "Honir! Can you run?"

"No," he breathed. "I may not ... it's not yet. But by tomorrow ..." He groaned, a deep, pained groan. "Artemis ... floor eighty-nine. At least - I can't -"

Honir's body dissolved into red cubes in Artemis's hands. They rolled away into nothing, leaving Artemis standing alone, helpless, wanting to scream his name and not daring.

* * *

"Eggman has deemed you useless," the Elder said. "You infiltrated the Resistance, only to turn traitor and pass them information. You disgust me, Lesser."

The Lesser said nothing. Words were pointless. He'd always known that it would come to this-the Elder had no love for him.

"You will be terminated tomorrow," the Elder went on. His voice was flat, no sorrow, no joy. "There is no use expending resources to keep you alive any longer."

"Thank you for informing me, Elder," the Lesser said humbly.

They were silent for a while, each alone with his thoughts. The Elder spoke first. "Why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Join the Resistance. Fight against the very people keeping you alive. You've always been a thorn in my side, Lesser, but this ... I don't understand." The Elder sounded genuinely baffled.

"Answer me this," the Lesser replied. "What is the value of a life?"

The Elder didn't reply for a long moment. Finally he said, "Lives are cheap and plentiful. They can be bought and sold, consumed and discarded. There is little value to a single life."

The Lesser said, "What is the value of your life?"

"That's different," the Elder snapped. "My life is important. All Mobius will be subject to me and my power."

"And my life?" the Lesser said.

Again, the Elder didn't reply for a while. "You failed to integrate with your Ruby. You're weak. The weak must perish while the strong survive."

"But that wasn't my fault," the Lesser said. "What if it had been you who failed to integrate?"

"Then I would be the one about to die," the Elder replied. "But I am not weak."

"Aren't you, Elder?" the Lesser whispered. "Eggman carries your death on his wrist. One flick of a button-"

"I am not weak!" the Elder roared. "I am the darkest of days, the sharpest of blades! He will never use the recall switch! I cannot fail! I am not weak!"

He continued to rave in this vein for some time. The Lesser listened, patient and sad. As his brother's fury spent itself, the Lesser said, "Do you want to know why I joined the Resistance?"

The Elder was breathing heavily. "Enlighten me."

"I infiltrated them easily enough. For a while, I shared your opinion. They were weak, disgusting, foolish rebels who were blind to the greater good we served. But then I observed them, brother. They treated each other with kindness and respect. They taught that all lives are equally precious, and must be preserved at all costs. They viewed our war as an abomination. And I came to see it their way. If all lives have value, then the mass slaughter of innocents is a blight upon the face of Mobius."

The Elder laughed mockingly. "You swallowed their propaganda."

"When does propaganda become truth?" the Lesser replied. "And when does truth become lies?"

"When you use them to believe that your pathetic life has meaning," the Elder snarled. "Since you die tomorrow, I'll begin draining your life force now. You'll die ever so slowly, brother. It will give you time to reflect upon how weak you really are."

The Elder drew upon the Lesser, ripping away the energy that filled the younger jackal. The Lesser groaned in anguish. His projection collapsed as his strength ebbed.

His lips silently formed the word, "Artemis ..."

* * *

Highway 85 cut its way through the hills, seeking the smoothest route for the millions of vehicles that used it every year. It had an isolated lane specifically for the automated semi trucks. Using cameras and artificial intelligence, the trucks hauled freight to and from Metropolis without the luxury of a driver at the wheel.

One such truck was filled with boxes of office supplies, stacked nearly to the roof. But a few boxes had been secretly set aside, making room for two Mobians to stow away.

Sonic and Artemis sat side by side, lounging on boxes a foot below the truck's ceiling. The hedgehog and wolf had kicked boxes around until their space was more comfortable. Now they rode along in the dimness, surrounded by the ambient roar of the engine and eighteen wheels on pavement.

They'd been riding since four that morning, when they sneaked aboard at an automated loading station. They slept for a while, conserving their strength. But now they were nearing Eggmanland's border, and they were awake and jittery.

"So, Artemis," Sonic said, "what can your fake Ruby actually do?"

The young wolf pulled it out of her vest pocket. "I'll show you." It glimmered on her palm, blood red, shot with blue streaks that wavered from place to place inside.

Sonic blinked and rubbed his eyes. "That thing hurts me to look at."

Artemis didn't answer. She focused on her forest, pulling it in around the truck and boxes, reconfiguring the space to look like something else.

The forest faded into being around them. Instead of boxes, they sat on mossy boulders with a tiny stream chattering at their feet. The truck noise faded away, replaced by the quiet of the woods and singing birds.

Sonic looked around and whistled. "Hey, if the Phantom Ruby made places like this, I'd like it a lot better!" He poked the rock beneath him. "You know, it looks like rock. But if I think about the boxes hard enough, I can feel the cardboard. So it really is just an illusion."

"Maybe it's me," Artemis said, ears flattening. "I'm kind of ... freaked out, and it makes it hard to concentrate."

Sonic patted her shoulder. "Don't worry. We're the stealth team, remember? The other Sonic will be a massive distraction. Eggman will focus on him and totally miss us."

Artemis nodded. Honir's plight weighed on her, making her stomach twist. He might be dead by the time she found him. One more funeral for a friend she never saw in person.

"Sonic," she said, and hesitated.

He looked at her, ears pricked, giving her his attention.

Artemis fumbled to find the words. "I was thinking-well-you know when you told me that the Resistance doesn't have pack ranks? That we're all equal?"

"Yeah."

She drew a deep breath. "Does that mean that Infinite is equal, too?"

Sonic exhaled and leaned against a rock. "Wow. That was not what I was expecting."

The wolf waited, heart pounding. So much hung on Sonic's next words.

"Well," Sonic said carefully, "if everyone is equal in the sight of Fith, then, yes, even Eggman and Infinite are equal with us. But there's a difference, you know?"

She shook her head. "A difference?"

Sonic nodded. "Their choices. You see this?" He gestured at the beautiful forest around them. "Infinite would never project something nice like this. I've been inside his illusions. It's all wasteland and death and barrenness. His choices have made him into the monster he is. Same with Eggman. He decided to try to become the king of Mobius. We're equal in that we eat and bleed. But we're different because of our choices."

Artemis gave a slow nod. This tallied with her own muddled thoughts on the subject. She drew breath to speak, hesitated, then plunged on. "Do you remember Honir, the jackal spy?"

Sonic shrugged. "I've seen him around, but I don't know him very well."

"Well ... he's Infinite's brother." The words sounded so horrifying, spoken like that.

Sonic's eyes widened. He sat up, as if ready to leap to his feet. "He is? How do you know?"

Artemis held up a hand. "Let me finish." A lump was forming in her throat. "He's in the Egg Tower somewhere, and he's been projecting an image of himself, the way Infinite does. But he's not strong enough to do crazy things. All he's done is pass is information about Infinite and Eggman."

Sonic's eyes were brilliant, worried green. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"He was my friend," Artemus said, her voice getting raspier. "Last night, they scheduled him for termination. Before we blow up the Egg Tower, I want to try to save him."

Sonic turned and stared straight ahead, gripping his knees. He didn't reply.

"Sonic," Artemis choked, "if Infinite is our equal, then so is Honir. And he made good choices."

Sonic rubbed his forehead. "You know, I thought this would be an easy mission. Now we've got to rescue somebody. Fine, whatever. We'll look for him before we wreck the place."

"Thank you!" Artemis hugged Sonic.

He smiled awkwardly, sitting stiffly, as if he didn't know how to react.

Something crashed on the roof of the truck above their heads.

The forest illusion vanished with Artemis's concentration. Back inside the truck, they looked up to see a metal hand with pointed fingers slowly peeling away the plywood paneling.

"Metal Sonic," Sonic breathed.


	13. Chapter 13: Null space

Young Sonic and Tails stood on the deck of the airship Sunset, gazing down at the hills and forests rolling by below. Tails lifted his grappling hook. "I've been practicing with one of these. It should get us aboard an Egg Titan with no trouble."

"Yeah, no trouble," young Sonic said, gazing at the horizon. "Have you wondered what will happen to me if you guys destroy the Phantom Ruby?"

Tails had tried not to think about it. He fiddled with his grappling hook without answering.

"It made the portal that brought me here," Sonic said. "At best, I'll be stranded here forever. At worst ... what if it kills me?"

"We'll figure something out," Tails said. "I mean, you're really here, right? You're not a projection."

"I better be," Sonic replied. "After I got the mother of all stomach-aches from that canned chili. Besides, who would be projecting me?"

"Yes, Infinite's projections aren't self-aware," Tails said. "And they don't get sick from eating eight chili dogs."

"Seven," Sonic said defensively.

"Point is," Tails said, "we'll get you home somehow, with or without the Phantom Ruby."

Amy's voice spoke over their headsets. "Sonic, Tails! Egg Titan sighted off the starboard side. Prepare to make your run."

The two dashed to the right side of the airship's deck. An Egg Titan towered up in the distance, striding along a road, buried to its knees in a green wood. Its body was a huge sphere with a flat head panel on top. The arms were studded with massive spikes meant for destroying buildings. Two more Egg Titans followed along behind, a mile between each.

"Sha-weet!" Sonic whooped. "Let's go!"

Tails spun his tails like helicopter blades, lifted off from the deck, and held out his hands. Sonic grabbed them. Tails hoisted him into the air, and the pair flew off the airship, parachuting toward the hillside below.

Sonic hit the ground running. Tails landed beside him, and they sprinted up the hill, through scattered trees, and into the wood. The trees shielded them from the titan's visual sensors, but any infrared tracking would note them.

The Egg Titan halted.

"It knows we're here," Sonic panted. He grabbed Tails's hand.

Tails lifted the grappling hook. "Come on, we can make it!"

They broke out of the trees between the Egg Titan's massive feet. The robot had turned and stood facing them.

No, not them. The airship Sunset.

"Amy!" Sonic yelled into his headset. "The Titan's going to shoot you down!"

"Full shields to starboard!" Amy shouted to the crew.

Five stories above them, the robot fired a red heat-beam across the woods and fields, striking the Sunset in the distance. The bird-shaped airship shimmered all over with a glowing green energy shield, absorbing the destructive laser.

"Shields down!" Amy exclaimed. "Sonic, Tails, we can't survive another hit like that. Act now! We have to get out of range."

"Roger," Sonic replied. "Tails?"

Tails fired his grappling hook, catching onto the robot's shoulder joint. He looped his arm through Sonic's, and reeled in the cable. The cable pulled them upward.

The Egg Titan's arm swung at them. Spikes longer than Tails was tall flashed through his range of vision. He cringed, drawing in his legs, and the spikes passed beneath them.

"Holy crap!" Sonic exclaimed. "It noticed us!"

The robot's movement swung them in a wide arc across its rounded chest and under the left arm. Tails and Sonic flowed with it, running sideways across the smooth metal, spiraling across the back and up toward the neck. The grappling cable wrapped around the robot, fouling the left arm's movement.

"The eye!" Sonic yelled.

The robot's huge head turned toward them, the red laser lens rotating as it tried to focus on them.

Tails used his momentum to throw Sonic at it. Sonic curled into a spiky ball and shot at the lens like a bullet.

He punched straight through. Glass shattered. Metal shrieked. The laser went dark. Sonic disappeared inside the robot's head.

A second later he yelled distantly, "Come on, Tails! I'm in the cockpit!"

Tails clambered through the broken eye.

* * *

Inside the truck, Artemis and older Sonic watched as Metal Sonic's hand tore away a section of plywood siding. The robot's glowing red eyes looked down at them. Artemis cowered backward.

"Construct," Sonic said. "Watch."

The robot grabbed the siding to tear the hole open wider. Sonic snatched the robot's hand and pulled, slamming the metal head into the gap it had made. Sonic braced a foot against the ceiling and pulled with all his strength. "If I can break the construct, we can get out and run before Infinite sends more."

Artemis stared at the scratches in the painted blue arm, at the diodes in the furious red eyes, now crushed against the hole. The metal shoulder joint creaked.

"Sonic, I think he's real."

"Why would they send the real one?" Sonic panted. "Infinite just spawns as many as he wants."

"Infinite's constructs are perfect. This one isn't."

Sonic hesitated, meeting the robot's eyes.

The truck swerved, throwing them sideways. Sonic lost his grip on the robot's arm. Metal Sonic immediately ripped his arm out of the hole and vanished from sight.

"Time to bail," Sonic said. He crouched, gazing at the hole in the roof, then leaped straight up in a spiky ball. He tore through the damaged wood, widening the hole, and climbed out on the truck's back. Artemis followed, gripping her meteor wispon and grappling hook. The wind of the truck's speed snatched her breath out of her mouth. The truck was roaring along a highway that curved gently to the right. Mountains reared up all around, but ahead, they fell away into a valley crowned with a light layer of smog. A river lay between the mountains and the valley. The highway crossed it in a long, red suspension bridge.

Artemis didn't like the look of that bridge. It was high and narrow, the perfect place for an ambush.

But she didn't have time to worry about it. Ahead of them, another truck's brakes screeched. It swerved sideways across four lanes of traffic. Cars honked and skidded, swerving into other lanes, trying to avoid the out of control semi. The truck they were riding swerved, too, following the other truck's arc.

The inertia kept Sonic and Artemis moving forward as the truck swung out from under them. Sonic grabbed the wolf's arm, and as they fell, he leaped, dragging her with him.

Artemis screamed as they flew through the air twenty feet from the asphalt. Sonic had aimed for the other crashing semi. They landed on its back just as the heavy trailer began to tilt, preparing to roll. Sonic ran across it, dragging Artemis, and leaped again.

They had been so quick that they landed on the back of another semi. This one was driving calmly on its way, unaware of the pandemonium behind it. Panting, Artemis and Sonic crouched atop its trailer and looked back.

Both crashing semis had fallen onto their sides, forming a roadblock that completely throttled traffic on highway 85. Only the front half of the string of automated semi trucks continued on their way. The smaller autos had been blocked. There were a few in the distance, speeding away from the wreck. But Sonic and Artemis were alone in a convoy of pilotless semi trucks.

"Ever get the feeling you've been set up?" Sonic called.

"It was Metal Sonic," Artemis panted, gripping her weapons. "I just know it. He caused that wreck."

"Keeping civilians out of it," Sonic said, gazing around them nervously. "He'll attack us soon."

The trucks sped up, rolling downhill. Artemis pointed. "Just wait. He'll catch us on the Red Gate Bridge."

Sonic gazed at the oncoming bridge with his ears flattened. "Art, why do you gotta be right all the time?"

The bridge loomed ahead of them, its majestic towers strung with massive cables, supporting the weight of the road and the passing cars. The river flowed by below, an opaque green, dotted with white boats.

The trucks were the only vehicles in sight as they crossed into the bridge. The roar of the wheels became a higher-pitched whine as the asphalt changed to the fine mesh of the bridge.

A small blue object fell onto the far end of their truck with a crash. Metal Sonic landed in a crouch, ferocity breathing off every line of his mechanical body.

"Run," Sonic exclaimed.

The hedgehog and wolf ran along the trailer and leaped to the next truck in line. Metal Sonic ignited the jet in his torso and shot after them.

Sonic and Artemis fled along the line of trucks, leaping from trailer to trailer, pursued by the killer robot. They were simply too slow - Metal Sonic was catching up.

Artemis whirled and fired her meteor wispon.

Densely-compressed energy like tiny rocks struck the robot, sparking off his titanium skin. One bullet zipped through his jet engine intake. Metal Sonic's jet backfired, spewing a black cloud of smoke. The robot dropped to the road and was hit from behind by one of his own trucks. He spun aside in its wake, rolling and sparking.

Sonic cheered. "That's how you do it!"

Artemis locked arms with him, fired her grappling hook up at the bridge supports, and swung them forward, along the convoy, putting distance between themselves and the killer robot.

They landed on another trailer. As Artemis reeled in her cable, a truck slammed into theirs from the side. Artemis and Sonic flew off and down into the road, among the killer trucks.

It was like being surrounded by stampeding animals. The headlights of the trucks gleamed like mad eyes. Sonic dragged the wolf to her feet and forced her to run, keeping pace with traffic, trying to avoid being run over. While Metal Sonic might survive such an impact, Sonic and Artemis wouldn't.

The nearest truck swerved at them, the huge wheels striving to catch them and grind them into the road. Sonic and Artemis poured on the speed, racing ahead of the truck. But the next truck tried to hit them, and the next.

Artemis fired her grappling hook and they managed to climb on top of a menacing vehicle. The wolf was nearly crying with fear. "Sonic, what do we do? They're going to kill us!"

Sonic turned in a circle, half-crouched, studying the convoy and bridge supports. "Metal Sonic is controlling them. But where is he?"

Artemis caught the snarl of the robot's jet engine over the noise of the convoy. She peered over the truck's side. "There!"

A dented, scratched Metal Sonic was flying along the road, using the trucks as cover, weaving between them.

"Shoot him," Sonic said.

Artemis fired at the robot. He flinched to one side, ducking behind their truck, and she lost sight of him. Then Metal Sonic shot into the air above their truck, hands curled into claws at his sides.

Artemis grabbed Sonic's arm and activated her meteor shield. At the same time, Sonic drew on the power of his own chaos aura, preparing to spin attack the robot.

Blue fire erupted around the pair in a bubble. Metal Sonic swooped at them and appeared to change his mind in midair. He angled to one side.

Sonic and Artemis hit him at the same time, their power combined into a single destructive force. They tore straight through the robot, turning him to scrap that scattered across the trucks and bridge.

Taking advantage of this new power, Sonic and Artemis ran up the bridge, weaving between trucks, which had returned to being docile robots without Metal Sonic hijacking them.

"What's happening to us?" Artemis yelled into the wind.

"Merged chaos fields or something!" Sonic yelled. "Keep running!"

They ran, faster than Artemis had ever run in her life, yet her legs moved effortlessly. The power cushioned and sustained her, making their travel easy. Did Sonic run like this all the time? No wonder he was so fast. Speed was simpler than normal motion.

They left the Red Gate Bridge behind and crossed into Eggmanland.

* * *

Tails and young Sonic sat inside the cockpit of the Egg Titan.

Destroying the robot's giant laser hadn't fazed it. Once its targets had been lost, it had returned to following the road toward Eggmanland, striding along with careful, almost delicate steps, so the motion of the cockpit was only a gentle swaying.

The cockpit held a computer console, powered down by the autopilot. Tails pulled a series of electronic gadgets out of his belt pockets and connected them to the computer. They let him override the autopilot and access the network the robots used.

"I'm in," he said into his headset.

Young Sonic sat in the copilot's seat beside him, watching in admiration.

In their headsets, Amy replied, "Excellent! We're out of firing range. The mechanics are repairing our shields. What can you find about the Phantom Ruby?"

"Give me a couple of minutes," Tails said. He focused on hacking, his brain full of proxies, firewalls, intruder countermeasures, and how to inject code to create a back door.

The Egg Titan's console was already inside the protections that had rebuffed him before. Hacking in from here was so much easier. Using the Titan's signature, he accessed Eggman's mainframe at last.

"Okay, here we go," the young fox said to both Sonic and Amy. "I'm in Eggman's personal files. Looks like he's got old robot designs ... old plans to defeat Sonic ... wow, he has ten terabytes of selfies ... Oh, here we go! The Phantom Ruby virtual reality weapon."

Sonic leaned forward, reading over his shoulder.

Tails read it aloud for a while. It covered a lot that they already knew: the Ruby projected a field that fed false information to peoples' brains, fooling their senses. While within this projected reality, constructs generated by the Ruby took on physical mass and could destroy people and objects. Infinite had been specially augmented and trained to use this reality bubble to create an entire military force.

"Infinite must be insane," Amy remarked. "Operating in two realities like that? His mind would warp."

"Can't argue with you there," Tails said. "There's more. The Phantom Ruby receives power from multiple sources. Not only is it feeding off three chaos emeralds and five Sol emeralds, it's also receiving fifty percent of the geothermal power plant's output. The thing is a black hole! And we're flying straight into it!"

Amy was quiet a moment, only the clicking of a keyboard audible in their headsets. After a moment, she said, "I've got my data guys running the numbers. According to them, the Phantom Ruby's reality field might encompass all of Eggmanland. It may have power to extend beyond that. Guys, we might already be under the Ruby's influence."

Tails exchanged worried looks with Sonic. "If we are, everything we see will be real for us. Even if it's pink fluffy unicorns dancing through rainbows."

"Somehow," Sonic said, "I don't think it will be unicorns."

* * *

Infinite and Eggman waited in an empty parking lot outside the Egg Tower. Eggman sat in his hovercraft. Infinite floated nearby, head bowed and arms outstretched, as if meditating.

"They're getting closer," Eggman said, watching the screen in his hovercraft. "The main attack force is approaching from the south."

"I know," Infinite said. "I could destroy them for you."

"No," Eggman replied. "I want all the rats in one trap. If you attack them now, they'll scatter and regroup elsewhere."

Red power swirled around and through Infinite, pulsing with his heartbeat. "This will be difficult," he told Eggman. "I've never worked an exclusion before. The Ruby is resisting."

"You said it was possible," Eggman growled. "Your earlier tests worked flawlessly."

"Larger scale, more variables," Infinite replied.

"What about null space?"

Infinite smiled behind the mask. "It's another piece of the same pie, Doctor. Why don't you let me use that instead of the exclusion? It would be so much easier."

"I want to see the terror in their eyes as they die," Eggman said. "I want corpses I can exhibit to my enemies. With null space, there's nothing left."

Infinite gathered power and gathered power, wrapping it around itself, weaving it into a construct that existed only in his mind. He'd been working on it for weeks, thinking out every tiny detail and twist. But his attention was not as complete as he wished. A tiny corner of his mind was preoccupied with the Lesser.

The Lesser was going to die, and Infinite was unhappy about it. As much as he tried to relish stripping away his brother's life force, it left only a sour feeling inside him. Was he too weak to extinguish this one life? He had destroyed so many others, this one should be easy. But it wasn't.

Focus. The trap must be flawless. The sheer energy it would require was so dangerous that he must not miss a variable. Despite his focus, the unhappiness still seethed beneath.

Footsteps rang against the pavement on the far side of the parking lot. Eggman and Infinite turned. Running toward them was Sonic and the magenta wolf. Both of them were wind blown and breathless. Eggman prudently moved his hovercraft twenty feet higher, out of reach of attacking hedgehogs.

"Found you, Eggman!" Sonic exclaimed, halting before them. The wolf brandished her wispon.

"Well well, so Metal Sonic didn't kill you after all," Eggman said.

Sonic shrugged with a smirk. "He was still too slow. Tell him I said that next time you rebuild him. Or is Infinite just going to make copies from now on?"

Infinite said nothing. Time was short and focus was precious.

"I'd love to kill you with your little friends," Eggman said. "But I want you alive until I can kill you before the masses. So you're going to chill until I have more time." He nodded to Infinite.

Infinite shifted his focus. The insect on his chest tightened its grip, digging its barbed claws into his flesh, burrowing its power through his Ruby and into his heart.

 _If A is the matrix_

 _The hedgehog is v_

 _H (v) equals A x v_

 _Hedgehog sent to null space_

Between Infinite's clawed hands, reality peeled away into a black hole that smoked red cubes at the edges. He released it and backed away to a safe distance. It floated in the air, growing wider by the second.

"What is that?" Sonic exclaimed.

"That is null space," Eggman laughed. "A mathematical construct where nothing exists. You'll have a fine time while I conquer the world. Not even your little friends can rescue you there."

Infinite watched impassively as the portal sucked Sonic toward it. He was part of the reality of the Phantom Ruby, and it was sending him to null space whether he wanted to or not.

The magenta wolf fired her grappling hook at a lamp post, grabbed Sonic's arm, and tried to drag him clear of the black portal. But the pull was too strong, and she slid toward it, too. Her grappling hook began to bend the lamp post.

She was the same insolent child who had written a forest over Infinite's glorious projections, who had mistaken him for his brother.

"You," Infinite said. "What's your name?"

The wolf's eyes flicked to his face. She snarled and didn't answer.

The grappling hook cable snapped. The wolf and Sonic vanished into null space. The portal closed behind them.

"You knew that kid?" Eggman asked, as if sending people to other dimensions was too commonplace to deserve comment.

"I let her live," Infinite replied. "I think it was a mistake."

* * *

Sonic and Artemis fell into a black void. Sonic reached out with both feet, expecting to feel ground - and somehow, they landed on solid ground. He kept a tight hold on Artemis's arm.

She trembled as she looked around. They could see each other, but nothing else. If there was light present, it had no source and nothing else to reflect it.

"Is this another dimension?" Artemis said. Her voice had a strange, flat quality, as if Sonic was hearing it through some other medium than air.

"It's another Phantom Ruby thing," Sonic said. "It's in our heads. Right?"

Artemis pulled her prototype Ruby out of her vest pocket. It pulsed with brilliant red light, like a heartbeat.

"I want an exit portal," she said. "And a way to get there." She closed her eyes and concentrated.

A road of red cubes appeared beneath their feet. Its lines converged in the distance, too near to be a horizon. It gave Sonic a strange, top-heavy feeling, like he was standing on a miniature road through a miniature world, and a wrong step would topple him into the abyss.

"There," Artemis said. "A portal!"

A white star burned at the point where the lines converged. Sonic walked toward it, the strange floor appearing under his feet.

Artemis tugged at him. "Faster! Run!"

Sonic broke into a sprint. The road stayed the same, the star stayed the same. He was running in place. Like the treadmill on the Death Egg. Running and running and knowing that pain awaited him if he stopped. He looked over his shoulder, expecting to see the wires. Because he expected them, they appeared, gleaming silver behind him, burning with electricity. The cage encircled him, too. Its tight mesh was inescapable, promising nothing but agony-

"Sonic!" Artemis shouted in his ear. "You're projecting this!"

He looked at her with a jolt. Artemis ran beside him on the treadmill, her arm looped through his, her eyes wild. "This place turns our thoughts into reality! You have to think about escape, not prison!"

Sonic faced the bars, the treadmill, the torture that waited after he collapsed. He tried to summon the will to defy it, but the will was gone. He wanted to curl up in a ball and beg for mercy.

This despair must have showed on his face, because Artemis cried, "Sonic! You're not alone! Look, here I am. I'm your friend. That's a truth. This cage - it's not a truth. It's a lie!"

"But it was a truth!" Sonic shot back. "It happened to me! Months and months I spent here!"

"We rescued you!" Artemis shouted. "It's in the past! This is an illusion - another lie!"

They ran faster, and still faster, Sonic's chaos field carrying them along. The treadmill spun under their feet. The wires crackled with lightning. The cage remained in place. The beckoning star in the distance remained as remote as another galaxy. Sonic couldn't make the cage vanish, because something was missing.

"I need my will," Sonic said wildly. "It's broken. Where is it?"

A sparkling shard of yellow glass floated through the air in front of them. Then another, and another.

"Catch them!" Sonic yelled.

He and Artemis snatched at the yellow shards, collecting them into a pile.

They somehow weren't running anymore. Now they stood around a card table made of red cubes. Sonic spread the shards across its surface. Artemis added the pieces she had found. Neither of them questioned the change. This place followed the logic of dreams.

"They broke me so many times," Sonic said, looking at the shattered glass. "It should be powder."

Artemis handed him the biggest piece. It might have been a vase at one point. "It's broken. But it's not gone. Look, maybe we can repair it."

Sonic searched for a shard that matched the nearest broken edge. "Do you think it can ever be fixed? I mean, look at this. It needs, like, ten gallons of glue." He stuck a piece on the bigger one. It fused together without a seam.

"Your poor will," Artemis said. "This is a truth. That's what makes this prison so bad. You don't have the will to fight them anymore."

"Your will is just fine," Sonic said. "Can't you get us out?"

Artemis pointed to the star in the distance. "We have to run to it. And we can't run if you're thinking about treadmills. That's a truth." She handed him a small yellow fragment.

Sonic slotted it into a deep V in the glass. "I was on the treadmill for so long. I thought I would die on it. But no, here I am in null space."

"You won't die here," Artemis said, putting her hands on her hips. "It's a lie. Don't think about lies. Here, all things are true, even lies. You have to think about only truth if we're getting back to reality."

Sonic pulled together two more glass pieces. The thing in his hands resembled the bottom half of a trophy, crafted of golden glass. "You know, it's a good thing we're here. I need to do this. I can't fight Infinite if I'm in pieces."

Artemis nodded. Sonic looked at her and saw her rubbing a bandage. She was covered them - her arms, legs, head, all bore thick bandages. Some had dark bloodstains, as if the bandages had never been attended to and changed.

He cringed. "Are you hurt?"

The wolf nodded. "That's a truth. If you're broken, then I'm injured." She gestured at her wounds. "My family. My pack. It still hurts."

Sonic's heart ached for her. He touched her gently on a non-bandaged place on her arm. "It'll always hurt. But eventually you'll be able to bear it a little better."

Artemis smiled and handed him a glass shard. "I hope so. That sounds like a truth. Is hope the same as truth?"

Sonic shrugged. "I think it's hoping that something unseen will become truth."

"Truth in advance," Artemis said with a laugh. "Hoping for healing. Hoping for wholeness."

Sonic held up the trophy of his will. It gleamed in the un-light, only a few bits missing from the rim. He searched the table. "Are there any more pieces?"

Artemis regarded the trophy solemnly. "I think ... maybe your will is permanently damaged."

"Only a little," Sonic said, clutching it to his heart. "I've got enough of it back."

Suddenly they were running again, no trophy, no bandages, arm in arm. The star sparkled ahead of them, growing brighter and brighter. Sonic focused his will into that portal opening, the end of the road approaching-

They burst out into the blinding sunlight of Mobius. The pair landed on hot asphalt. They were back in the same parking lot, in the same spot they had left. Artemis and Sonic cheered and exchanged a high five.

Infinite and Eggman were just turning to go.

"Impossible!" Eggman roared. "How did you escape null space?"

"Truth and lies, Eggman," Sonic said. "Null space wasn't so empty with us in there. Time for you to surrender and come quietly."

"Ha," Eggman replied. "I don't think so. Here comes your heroic armada now."

The airship fleet had appeared in the distance. Three of them looked like birds with outstretched wings. The others were sleek, whale-like shapes with huge jets under their stubby wings.

Eggman's robots flew around them in a cloud, attacking, shooting, trying to tear apart the wings and engines. The Mobian ships fought back, destroying swaths of robots with plasma fire. Explosions and flashes of light filled the horizon.

If Sonic had been in Eggman's place, he would have been terrified. But to Sonic and Artemis, the armada was the most wonderful thing they'd ever seen.

Sonic punched a fist into the air. "Go team! Kick 'em where it hurts!"

Artemis glanced at Eggman and Infinite. The pair watched the oncoming battle patiently, waiting for something. No fear. No issuing orders. Nothing but waiting in silence.

"It's a trap," Artemis whispered to Sonic.

Sonic glanced at his enemies, looking from their faces, to the oncoming battle, and back. "You guys are plotting something, aren't you?"

"It's time for the big surprise, hedgehog," Eggman said. "I wanted you out in null space where it wouldn't affect you, but I guess I can kill you here. It'll be less satisfying."


	14. Chapter 14: The heart of the sun

Sonic switched on his headset and flicked to Knuckles's frequency. "Hey Knux, Eggman's got something planned."

"You don't say," the echidna said, sounding distracted. "You mean something more than the ten thousand robots trying to drag us out of the sky?"

Eggman smirked. "You can warn them all you like, Sonic. It won't do any good. You've been within the Phantom Ruby's sphere since you crossed my borders. You didn't think those were real trucks on that bridge, did you?"

Sonic's brain froze. The trucks hadn't been real? Had Metal Sonic been a construct all along? How much of this was real?

The armada drew closer, the crackle and boom of the battle growing louder. Eggman bent over his hovercraft's computer. Infinite slowly raised both hands.

"He's going to send them all to null space," Artemis breathed.

Sonic drew a quick breath and tensed to run and attack his enemies.

Infinite threw his head back and groaned, as if lifting a burden that was almost beyond his strength. As he did, the blue of the sky washed out into brilliant yellow light, licked with red. The harsh electronic tone of the Phantom Ruby rang in Sonic's head.

On his headset, people screamed. A small airship, flying higher than the rest, burst into flames and spiraled downward to vanish behind the buildings.

Sonic charged at Infinite, but the jackal and Eggman had become strange silhouettes, barely visible in the blinding light of the fiery sky. The buildings, too, had faded into ghostly shapes. All around was only barren land devoid of trees or grass. Sonic passed straight through his enemies.

"Behold, the sun!" Eggman laughed. His voice sounded flat, as if he spoke through the null dimension. "It will descend and destroy you all, safely within the Ruby's construct, where you can do no more harm."

"Sonic!" Amy cried in his headset. "What's happening?"

"Ruby construct," Sonic said tersely. "He's dropping the sun on us."

The armada broke formation, every ship flying wildly, trying to escape. Two crashed into each other and fell out of the sky in a tangle of wreckage.

"Sonic," Artemis said very softly, "I can stop this." She produced her tiny Ruby prototype and held it out. It pulsed in time with Infinite's superior gem.

"Can I help?" Sonic said.

Artemis handed him her grappling gun with the hook broken off, and her wispon. "Hold these. I don't know what will happen." Her voice had a choking sound, as if she was holding back tears.

Sonic stood beside her, one hand on her shoulder, thinking of the bandages she had worn in null space. "I can add my will, if it helps."

Artemis nodded, drawing a deep breath. "We're going to send the sun to my forest."

* * *

The sun construct was staggeringly powerful. Artemis felt the power radiating from Infinite, maintaining the illusion, drawing it in to burn all life within it to ash.

But her Ruby could overwrite his constructs, alter them, change their behavior. She was not strong enough to cancel his construct entirely.

Artemis focused on her beautiful wood, the ancient trees, the hanging moss, the little flowers that twinkled in the undergrowth. It came into being easily, so close to its parent Ruby. The blinding sun faded away, blocked by branches and leaves.

"The forest is like a folded paper bag," Artemis whispered to Sonic. "I've just unfolded it. We're going to pull the sun into it. The sun is coming down anyway. We're going to guide it inside, and close the bag."

"But it'll burn," Sonic murmured. "Infinite's construct is so much stronger."

"Once it's contained," Artemis said, "it will end." She couldn't explain how she knew this. The mathematics of the construct were beyond her, but she sensed that it had a definite time limit. The sun could not burn forever.

Artemis reached out with her will and touched the sun. It was a ball of fire, carefully woven, logically produced to destroy and consume. Yet at its center she felt regret. The construct lacked the power it could have had because Infinite, himself, had not put his heart into it.

Why?

Artemis stood frozen, suspended in the layers of constructs, stumped by that question. Infinite's power was in his heart. Yet he had not given his heart to this mighty act of total destruction.

She touched the sun again, feeling its empty center, the mathematics driving it and nothing else. She pushed aside the fiery corona, the burning mantle, and peered into the sun's core.

Honir was there. The black jackal was half-curled, knees drawn in, arms folded across his chest. His eyes were open, fixed downward in an expression of misery. As Artemis gaped at him, he turned his head and looked at her.

"Honir!" she cried.

The jackal's voice was barely above a whisper, but she heard him clearly. "He hasn't terminated me yet."

"Why are you in the sun?"

Honir bowed his head and smiled sheepishly. "The sun is my life force."

Artemis reeled, pressing a hand to her forehead. "If I extinguish the sun-"

"It will return my strength," Honir said. "I'm being used to power the construct. Ending the construct will let me live a little longer."

"It won't kill you?"

Honir gave her a sad look. "You don't understand. I'm not here. You're not here. None of this is real. That's a truth."

The wolf gaped at him for a moment. Then she gathered her strength, tore the sun from the sky, and crammed it into her forest.

The forest burst into flames. The moss withered to nothing in an instant. The flowers blackened and died. The leaves blasted away and the tree trunks burst into red flame. The fire burned into Artemis, too. This forest had been the part of her that the tiny Ruby had copied. By taking the sun into her construct, she had taken it into herself.

But it wasn't Infinite's power. It was Honir's.

The fire burning into her was not fire: it was life. The life of an imprisoned, lonely jackal, who had tried to help and heal what his brother had maimed. The life was being used for destruction, but it was meant for healing. That was a truth.

Artemis screamed and closed her construct around the sun.

Her tiny Ruby shattered in her hand.

The world skewed back into reality. The sun vanished, leaving the sky blue once more. The city, Eggman, and Infinite all returned.

Infinite reeled and fell over, clutching the Ruby in his chest.

Artemis collapsed, too, coughing wisps of flame. Sonic knelt over her, but there was nothing he could do. Not with the false sun's energy beating inside her, stolen from Honir, organized by the power of the Phantom Ruby. For a moment she felt it beating against her heart, the same as Infinite and Honir.

But Artemis had no Phantom Ruby prototype. The sensation slowly faded, as did the overwhelming burning. She climbed to her feet, fighting through the Ruby's electronic ringing in her ears.

While she had been recovering, Eggman and Infinite had left. The parking lot was empty. Sonic stood beside her, talking quickly on his headset. There was a new light in his eyes that he'd lacked since he'd returned from prison. He looked younger now, more like himself, more hopeful and energetic. The Mobian airships circled in the distance, reforming their formation. Some were landing, and others laid down suppression fire as Eggman's robots regrouped.

Sonic flicked off his headset. "Art, that was amazing. You saved us all!"

She nodded, dazed by the magnitude of what she'd done.

He tugged her to her feet. "Are you up to the next leg of the plan? I mean, if you're too fried, you can go back to the fleet."

"I think I'm okay," she replied. The shakiness was wearing off, and Honir's life flowed through her veins. She felt very, very good - and guilty about it.

Sonic studied her, then nodded. "You're not dead, so that's good. The armada is preparing their invasion. They're trying to seize Eggman's airbase and his robotics factory. You and me are going to storm the tower, rescue Honir and the emeralds, and get out before the reactor blows. Sound good?"

A day ago, it would have sounded massively difficult. But now, after having erased Infinite's most powerful construct, it was no big deal. Artemis nodded and picked up her wispon. The grappling gun was no use with the hook broken off.

Sonic picked it up, instead. "You never know when this might come in handy."

* * *

Young Sonic and Tails had sneaked into Metropolis inside the captured Egg Titan. Tails let its autopilot carry them past the security checkpoints, providing its identification codes automatically. They heard the shouting and chaos of the falling sun construct, but they weren't part of it because Eggman didn't know they existed. Then the construct was canceled, somehow, and the attack resumed.

"This is the easiest stealth job I've ever done," Tails said, kicked back in the pilot's seat with his feet on the control panel. "Why didn't I ever hijack one of these? Way better than a motorcycle."

"And more boring," Sonic replied. "Can't this thing go any faster?"

Knuckles's voice spoke over their headsets. "Sonic and Artemis are making their run on the Egg Tower. Our airships are covering for them, but the Death Egg is preparing for an orbital strike. We can't survive that. Tails, can you shut it down?"

Tails whipped his feet off the control panel. Sudden panic made his fur bristle. "I can try, but it won't be easy. How long until it's in position?"

"We're not sure," Knuckles replied. "We're still calculating its trajectory."

Young Sonic ran around the cockpit three times to vent his feelings. "I can't even do anything! Since when does the Death Egg do orbital strikes?"

"Since Eggman worked on it for ten years in secret," Tails said through his teeth. "Shut up so I can concentrate."

Eggman's bases shared networks, rapidly exchanging information across thousands of miles and hundreds of databases. Tails attached a worm program to the Egg Titan's signature and burrowed through the network to the Death Egg's database.

The Death Egg's systems were vast, and equipped with ICE that pinged Tails's signature multiple times before allowing it access. They were suspicious. Knowing he only had minutes before the ICE detected his worm, Tails released a series of search spiders. They combed the Death Egg's data and returned the parts to him that he wanted the most.

The weapons systems and operational passcodes.

Tails stretched his arms, grinning anxiously. "Okay. I've got access to the weapons. But as soon as I shut them down, it'll trigger alarms and I'll be locked out."

"What you need," Sonic said, "is a contact on the inside. Does the Resistance have any spies on the Death Egg?"

Tails asked Knuckles about it. After a moment, Knuckles replied in a low voice, "Rouge the Bat is stationed there. Here's the number for her frequency." He repeated a string of numbers.

Tails punched them in. Aware that she was probably hiding somewhere, he whispered into a microphone, "Rouge?"

"Yes, who's this?" The bat spoke very softly.

"This is Tails, with the Resistance. I'm trying to stop the Death Egg's orbital strike, but I need help."

Rouge was silent a moment. "I can't do anything without passcodes. I've been trying to crack them for days."

"Get a pen," Tails said. "I have a bunch of them right here." He repeated the digits to Rouge.

She grew steadily more delighted. "Do you know what this means? I have access to the whole system. Well! My mission can go into effect now."

"What mission?"

"I'm breaking the prisoners out, and we're capturing the Death Egg for the Resistance."

Young Sonic's eyes widened. "Sally Acorn at the controls of the Death Egg? I wish I could see this."

Tails grinned. "As soon as I shut down the weapon systems, it'll lock me out."

"Don't worry about that," Rouge assured him. "I'm using an unattended console, and the computer thinks I'm one of the management robots. I'll contact you once we seize control."

The code on Tails's hack changed suddenly, numbers filling the screen. He stared at it. "What's happening?"

"Orbital ion cannon is firing," Rouge said over crackling interference. "Shut it down, quick!"

Tails triggered the weapon shutdown. The ICE purged his connection immediately. Heart pounding, he paged Knuckles. "Are you guys all right?"

"The orbital strike is aimed at the other Sonic," Knuckles said grimly. "Get it offline!"

"I just did," Tails replied. "Rouge is going to use my information to capture the Death Egg."

"Keep me posted," Knuckles replied. "Sonic and Artemis were fighting Infinite directly. No idea what's happened to them now. There's a whole city block on fire."

"That's not good," young Sonic said. He sank into the copilot's chair, suddenly pale.

A sick feeling of dread in his stomach, Tails guided the Titan in the direction of the Egg Tower.

* * *

"What is your name?" Infinite snarled.

Sonic and Artemis chased the masked monster down a street riddled with craters and debris from the fighting overhead. They were trying to get to the Egg Tower. Infinite kept diverting them into running in circles around it, blocking their path with illusions and constructs.

Infinite flew backward, never turning his back on them, warping the world. Sometimes they ran through a barren desert, sometimes through deep water, sometimes through blowing snow. Sometimes spikes exploded out of the asphalt, tearing at their feet and legs. Without Artemis's Ruby, she could no longer fight Infinite's illusions. She and Sonic pushed through each new construct by willpower alone.

Artemis raised her meteor wispon and fired at Infinite. He spawned ten copies of himself, which blocked the projectiles.

"No good," Sonic panted. "We have to hit him directly."

"What is your _name_ , whelp?" Infinite snarled, hurling handfuls of fire at the hedgehog and wolf, forcing them to dodge down a side street. He reappeared in front of them. "The Lesser conceals it from me, no matter how I torment him!"

"My name's Sonic," the hedgehog said. "Gee, your memory must be terrible if you forgot it already. How hard did Shadow and Blaze hit you?"

Infinite yanked a bank of rocket launchers into existence, each of them aiming along the road. Sonic and Artemis ducked and rolled to avoid rockets, peppered by flying debris that wasn't real.

"I know you, Sonic," Infinite snarled, his mane of white hair flying about his black shoulders. "It's the fool beside you I know nothing about." He addressed Artemis directly. "You destroyed my sun with a weak prototype Ruby! Who are you? How are you so powerful? I must know your name before you die!"

Artemis laughed breathlessly. When Infinite talked, he slowed down. Why was he so desperate for an answer? Maybe she could stall him long enough for Sonic to hit him. Infinite was mentally strong, but one hit in the Ruby and he was out of the fight.

"Your sun had a flaw," she panted. "It had no heart."

"Suns have burning fusion cores!" Infinite raged. "They don't need hearts."

"This one did," Artemis replied. "And Honir was inside. He said you made the sun from his life force."

Infinite's head jerked backward as if she had slapped him.

"When I extinguished your sun," Artemis continued, "I took it into my heart. Along with Honir's life. I don't think you could kill me now if you tried."

"Your Ruby shattered!" Infinite roared. One hand clutched spasmodically at his chest. "You have no way of interacting with the construct. You could not access the Lesser. It's impossible!"

"You keep using that word," Sonic said. "Nothing's impossible when the Phantom Ruby's involved."

They tried to turn right and take a road toward the tower. Infinite spawned a robot army on that road that fired a wave of plasma bolts. Sonic and Artemis were forced to take cover in a doorway. Then they doubled back, trying to circle around Infinite's defenses.

"He's herding us," Sonic muttered.

"I noticed," Artemis said with a nod. "What's his game? Stalling?"

"Yes, but why?"

Sonic and Artemis dashed down an open street, headed for the tower at last. Infinite was nowhere in sight. A second later, they discovered why.

A blinding bolt of blue light fell out of the heavens, slicing through a building fifty feet away. The building exploded into flame. The beam swept up the street toward the two Mobians, leaving the asphalt melted and burning in its wake.

Sonic and Artemis fled the way they had come, blocked in by buildings all around. The beam moved with nightmarish speed, catching up with them almost at once.

Sonic grabbed Artemis and threw himself into a roll, shooting sideways and into a shop as the beam passed by.

The beam continued onward in an arc, shearing through five more buildings and another street before shutting off. Artemis lay on the cold floor of an empty delicatessen, panting, Sonic kneeling beside her, watching for the beam to reappear.

"What was that?" she gasped.

"The Death Egg's ion cannon," Sonic said breathlessly. "I've never seen it used on foot soldiers. Eggman saved it for nuking airships and stuff. Stay down. Infinite's probably looking for our bodies."

The wolf crawled to all fours, and they sat side by side, waiting for further developments. Fire crackled nearby, smoke clouding the air. They couldn't stay hidden long. No people emerged from the buildings, nobody cried for help. This whole area had been evacuated by Eggman, and now they knew why.

"Why does he want to know your name?" Sonic whispered.

Artemis shook her head. "I don't know. It's so weird. Maybe I should ask him his name."

"If he has one," Sonic muttered. "I'll bet he wants to feed you into his constructs somehow. Come on, let's try to reach the tower."

They crept outside and ran up the burned road, the heat radiating through their shoes. They kept a nervous eye on the sky, which now had a strange vertical contrail in it from the beam's descent.

They'd almost reached the tower when Infinite appeared out of nowhere. He dropped on them from above, grabbed Artemis by the throat, and lifted her off her feet. "Tell me your name!" he snarled, the tip of his pointed mask almost touching Artemis's nose.

So great was Infinite's focus on throttling the wolf that he forgot Sonic was right there. Sonic, whom he had bullied and tortured through his constructs, whose will he had broken. Sonic, who had a score to settle.

In quieter days, Knuckles had taught Sonic how to fight with his fists. Even though Sonic's feet were his main weapons, he also knew the correct way to make a fist, to deliver a blow. As Infinite began to murder his team mate right in front of him, Sonic curled one hand into a fist. He ran forward three steps, creating as much forward momentum as possible, and punched Infinite's Ruby with all his might.

Glass cracked.

Infinite dropped Artemis, back arched, head twisted backward. Red lightning exploded from him, knocking Sonic and Artemis backward. Flame, darkness, clouds, ghostly robots, all emitted from Infinite in wave after wave, blotting out Metropolis, darkening the world, until the only thing left in existence was the silhouette of Infinite, frozen in the throes of agony.

* * *

Eggman glanced at his hovercraft's screen in disbelief. "Sonic actually damaged Infinite?"

Waves of distortion rolled through the Phantom Ruby's field, confusing the Resistance and Eggman's robots alike. For a moment, Eggman remembered the jackal's rebellious attitude in the control room, when he had denied being hurt. Well, there was no denying it now. Infinite was dragging the entire Ruby field into a black hole of oblivion.

Eggman pulled back his sleeve, exposing the red recall switch he had worn day and night for months. There was a reason he had included a kill switch in his greatest weapon. At the end of the day, virtual reality was its own greatest weakness.

He turned it off.

* * *

Infinite made an incoherent scream from the midst of the Ruby storm. The world seemed to dissolve into red cubes that shrank inward, sweeping away the darkness and taking Infinite with them. His shape dissolved away with an electronic ringing sound. Then, before Sonic and Artemis's astonished eyes, the cubes flicked upward, vanishing into one of the Egg Towers's upper floors.

"Wait," Sonic said. "Infinite was a construct, too? But I hit him! He felt solid!"

"Honir was, too," Artemis said, her voice raspy. "Infinite must be projecting from the tower." She rubbed her neck where Infinite's claws had scored it.

Sonic examined her with concern. "You okay? You can quit the mission if you're too hurt."

"I'm fine," Artemis exclaimed. "Infinite is in the tower somewhere. He'll be ripping Honir's life out to heal himself. Let's go, quick!"

* * *

"Now we are equal," the Lesser said.

The Elder didn't answer. He floated in silence, head bowed, arms crossed over the Ruby in his chest.

"It has come to this," the Lesser said. "My energy is expended, or I would heal you."

"There is no healing this," the Elder muttered. "The flaw runs straight through. No more focus. No more clean flow."

The Lesser turned his head, listening. "Chaos erupts outside. No matter who wins, brother, you and I are doomed. Eggman will replace us. The Resistance will execute us."

The Elder said nothing. Words had finally deserted him. He was broken, useless, a failed experiment to be thrown away.

"Brother," the Lesser said gently, "our end approaches. Will you face the long night with your hubris intact? Or admit to your many wrongs?"

"Be silent," the Elder snapped, his voice thick and uneven. "Defeat is a new taste I have never before savored. The bitterness is appalling."

Footsteps broke the silence. The Elder and the Lesser looked up as a blue hedgehog and a magenta wolf intruded upon their conversation for the first time.


	15. Chapter 15: Let me die

Artemis stopped on the threshold of floor eighty-nine, staring, wide-eyed. Sonic ventured inside a few steps and halted.

The entire floor was a dim, shadowy place filled with stasis tubes. They filled the floor in orderly rows, the interior of each filled with green fluid or gas. In each tube was a shapeless mound of some mysterious substance. In some tubes it had been formed into the familiar cubes. In others, it was merely a glob.

"Uh," Sonic said, "are Honir and Infinite one of these blob things?"

Artemis stared at the nearest one in horrified revulsion. "Honir said that his body looked like his projection. But ... he never told me everything."

"Come on," Sonic said, walking down one of the rows of tubes. "If they're in here, we'll find them."

Artemis followed, not wanting to be alone. It was too easy to imagine those globs taking Infinite's form, shattering the glass, converging on them like a scene from a horror movie.

It had been bad enough fighting their way through the Egg Tower, which was defended by Eggman's fiercest robots. The wisp in her gun had expended its energy. It had eaten three pellets and gone to sleep, unable to provide power for any more projectiles.

Sonic reached the far end of the row and halted, staring to the left. Artemis crept up beside him and followed his gaze.

Two tubes stood side by side, a little apart from the rest. They were twice the size of the others. Infinite floated inside one, black fur, mask, and all. He glared at them with his single eye. A nest of wires were plugged into his spine and the back of his head, vanishing into the ceiling through the top of the tube. An awful red thing covered his chest where his Ruby usually was. Artemis's eyes cringed away from it. It was either a mound of blood or some kind of spider. She couldn't make herself look at it any closer.

Honir floated in the other tube. Artemis ran to him with a cry.

The black jackal looked nearly the same as his projection, just as he said. He had black fur, a white muzzle and tail tip. But here in reality, the badly-healed incision on his chest was plain to see. It was held shut by big metal staples, and red light gleamed between them when he moved. He, too, had wires connected to his spine and brain stem. He smiled and pressed a hand to the glass.

"He's missing a leg," Sonic observed.

Artemis looked. Honir's right leg had been removed above the knee, leaving only a pathetic stump.

"Yes," Honir said, his voice faint behind the glass. "We were both injured when we came to Eggman. He augmented us instead of healing us."

Artemis suddenly understood what she was seeing. The tubes weren't filled with water-they contained pure oxygen, as a warning label on the tube's base proclaimed. The base of the tube was an antigravity pad, allowing Honir and Infinite to float. She gazed at her mangled friend, her heart breaking for him.

"Are you going to be terminated?"

He nodded. "Soon. Release us with the control panel over there." He pointed to a computer console with three keyboards, two screens, and a rack of buttons. Sonic dashed to it and studied the screens.

"Release both of you?" the blue hedgehog said over his shoulder. "Just Honir, you mean."

"Both," Honir said. "Please."

"If you open these tubes," Infinite said, "I'll destroy you both. You've never dealt with my true might." His voice was strong and loud, ringing inside the glass. He floated with his fists clenched at his sides and head turned slightly, watching them with his good eye from behind the mask.

Artemis looked from jackal to jackal, doubt filling her heart. "Can you survive outside the tube?"

Infinite and Honir exchanged a quick look. "Of course!" Infinite said with too much force in his voice. "These tubes enable us to interface directly with the virtual reality weapon, that's all." The thing on his chest moved a little.

Artemis wrenched her eyes away from Infinite and back to Honir. "What's that red thing on him?"

"The Phantom Ruby," Honir said.

Artemis glanced at Infinite again, trying to make herself look at the thing on his chest. "It doesn't look like a jewel. It looks more like a gross bug."

Honir blinked and frowned, seeming to see Infinite for the first time. Perhaps Artemis's words had pierced through a veil of deception that the Ruby had placed between them.

"Elder, what's that on your chest?"

Infinite raised a hand and touched the squirming red thing. He looked down, but the mask blocked his view. He reached up to remove the mask, hesitated, and held it in place, instead. "It's a projection from the Phantom Ruby itself. It's empowering me directly."

"It's full of blood," Artemis observed.

Infinite looked down, straining to see through the mask. When he couldn't see, he lifted his head again and a forced laugh. "It's showing you whatever it wants you to see."

"Stand back, Art," Sonic called from the control console. "I'm opening Honir's tube."

The tube hissed. Slowly the glass slid into the floor, leaving the jackal floating among his wires, unprotected. Honir drew a deep breath and coughed, making a face. "Mixed atmosphere. Hard on the lungs."

Sonic returned and looked at the jackal, taking in the wires that held him prisoner. "We'll have to unplug him. Honir, will you survive?"

"I hope so," Honir said, pressing a hand to the staples in his chest. "Be very careful. I'm not strong right now."

Sonic and Artemis went to work pulling wires out of Honir's spine. He grunted as each needle emerged. When they reached the one on his brain stem, he begged them to go ever so gently. Sonic removed that one. Artemis's hands were shaking too badly to trust herself. She dashed around the room, looking for stretchers or crutches, anything they could use to convey Honir to freedom.

She found a huge cabinet in the far end of the room. It was filled with bandages and other medical supplies, including a folded stretcher. She dragged it free and carried it back to Sonic and Honir.

Sonic had completely freed Honir and had lifted him off the antigravity pad. The jackal hung limp in his arms, barely able to lift his head.

"Oh, a stretcher!" Sonic said as Artemis arrived. "Perfect! I'm afraid to try to carry him. He's so fragile, if I drop him, he'll break."

Artemis unfolded the stretcher. Sonic lowered Honir onto it. The jackal lay there, helpless, looking up at them, his pupils dilated with pain. "Please," he whispered, "rescue Infinite."

"Rescue him?" Sonic exclaimed, pointing at the masked jackal. "So he can kill even more people? So he can steal the real Phantom Ruby and ruin the world with it? I don't think so!"

Honir closed his eyes and shook his head wordlessly.

Sonic walked up to the tube and stood there, staring at their enemy. Infinite stared back, defiant, a caged animal with a spider on his chest. They remained like that for a long moment.

"You tortured me with your constructs," Sonic said. "Zavok fell apart in red cubes. He was yours."

"Yes," Infinite said. "I had many constructs that did many things."

"You tortured me!" Sonic snarled. "You held me under water!"

The fur on Infinite's neck bristled in a way that his construct-self never showed. "That was Zavok, not me. I manifested him and let him operate."

"Oh, right," Sonic said. "So kicking me around a cell was an afterthought?"

"Zavok ran on a subroutine that allowed him limited agency," Infinite growled. "All my independent constructs did. Most of his cruelty was drawn from his information we have stored in the Phantom Ruby database."

Sonic stood there, spines bristling. "You let him do that to me every day for six months!"

"Eggman demanded it!" Infinite snarled. "You have no idea how tedious it is to press the same person for information over and over. But without you, Eggman had no edge in his war. I would have much preferred creating spies and infiltrating each nation myself. More challenge. Watching you run on a treadmill is no challenge at all. I had more important things to do than watch a hedgehog snivel for mercy."

Sonic stared at Infinite for a long moment. Infinite stared back.

"I'm going to blow the reactor," Sonic told him in a low voice. "I'm taking all the emeralds out of it. I'll destroy your precious Phantom Ruby. And you can sit here in this tube while this tower goes sky high."

Infinite snarled and dragged his claws down the glass. "If I hadn't been recalled ..."

Artemis chimed in. "When the reactor blows, first, there will be fear, then pain. Then, well, at least the fear and pain will end."

That was the wrong thing to say. Infinite hurled himself against the glass with a shriek. "How dare you! How dare you turn my words against me! Now your nightmare will end only when you beg for death!" He flung both arms outward and drew on the Phantom Ruby's power.

Perhaps Sonic's threat had triggered an existential crisis.

Perhaps it was because Infinite had been defeated and wounded.

Perhaps it was because of the crack that stretched through Infinite's Ruby prototype.

Whatever the reason, it was at that instant that the Phantom Ruby abandoned Infinite.

The spider-thing on his chest tore itself free of the jackal, taking with it the prototype that Infinite carried against his heart. Veins and sinew tore. Infinite screamed.

The Ruby-thing punched through the tube in a colossal explosion of glass. The spider-thing hit the floor and scurried away toward the outer door, leaving a trail of red.

Artemis, Sonic, and Honir watched, stunned. Infinite's scream dropped to a long moan, then he fainted. He hung in the tube from the wires in his spine, head and limbs dangling. A steady flow of red dribbled from a huge hole in his chest, floating in grotesque bubbles over the antigravity pad.

Honir struggled to sit up in the stretcher. "Get him out! Bring him here, quickly! I might be able to heal him!"

"Dude," Sonic said, "I'm pretty sure he's dead."

The hedgehog and wolf hurried to the shattered tube. Sonic kicked the cracked glass, bringing the rest of the tube down in a crash. He jumped up into the antigravity and began unhooking the jackal. "You deserved that," Sonic muttered to him. "I don't know what just happened, but now you know what torture feels like."

Artemis ran to the medical cabinet and returned with a giant roll of gauze. She pulled off several feet, wadded it up, and pressed it into Infinite's chest. The white gauze immediately saturated with red. She had a good look at Infinite's augmentation.

The jackal's sternum had been cut away to make space for the Ruby. Metal struts had been screwed into his ribs around the hole for support. No amount of surgery would ever repair such monumental skeletal damage.

Artemis looked into the mask's eye hole, but the jackal's eye was closed. He appeared quite dead - except she could feel his heart beating against the gauze. It beat unevenly, fluttering and weak.

Sonic finished unplugging the jackal, lifted him with a grunt, and carried him to the stretcher. Artemis walked alongside, holding the gauze in the wound to slow the bleeding. She kept her attention on little, specific things like keeping pressure on the wound. If she thought about anything bigger-like that thing that had torn the Ruby out of Infinite's chest-she would go into screaming hysterics.

Sonic was barely keeping it together, himself. He laid the masked jackal in the stretcher beside Honir, then backed away, looking at his soiled gloves. With a shudder he pulled them off and threw them across the room. He had more gore on his arms, too. Artemis handed him the roll of gauze. Sonic tore off a handful and wiped off blood in horrified silence.

Honir sat up with a choking cry. He gently pulled the wad of gauze out of his brother's chest, then placed his hands on either side of the wound. "Elder," he said with tears thickening his voice, "look what it's done to you. Everything it promised you was a lie."

Truth and lies. Artemis had a sudden memory of Honir floating in the sun's core, powering it with his life force. She had captured that sun in her virtual forest, and therefore, inside her heart.

She placed her hands on the backs of Honir's. "I don't know if it will help," she whispered to him, "but I'm still carrying that sun's power."

Honir looked at her as if she had handed him all seven Chaos Emeralds. "Yes," he breathed. "I'm going to need every bit of it." Honir glared at Infinite. "Come on, Elder. You're always saying that you're not weak. Show me your strength!"

Infinite's body convulsed, his head lifting for a second. A gurgling groan emerged from him. "I'm ... not ... weak."

A faint wisp of flame curled from beneath Honir and Artemis's hands, licking into Infinite's wound.

Honir looked at Sonic. "Insult him."

Sonic was standing at a safe distance, trying to watch without looking too closely. He gave Honir a confused look. "Insult him? Look at him. The dude's done for."

"Tell him that," Honir said, his voice strengthening as Artemis gave his old strength back. "Tell him how weak he is."

Infinite made a wet snarling sound. "I'm ... not ... weak!"

"Yeah you are," Sonic said, catching on. "I punched you one time and you completely spazzed out. You can't take a hit. You're weak, man."

"Recall ... switch," Infinite groaned. "Not ... my fault."

More fire swirled out of Honir and Artemis's hands.

"It's not enough to give him life," Honir whispered to Artemis. "He has to take it, and he only takes it when he's angry."

The hole in Infinite's chest, half-full of blood, had stopped leaking. His heart beat a little steadier.

"You couldn't even find out Artemis's name," Sonic said scornfully. "That's her name. Artemis."

"The huntress," Infinite wheezed. "I should have known." He rolled his head to one side so his good eye could see the wolf standing over him. "You've hunted me across the world, whelp. I should have ..."

"Should have killed me?" Artemis said with a laugh. "If you did, I wouldn't be healing you right now."

"We would have won," Infinite gasped. "The sun! Would have ... ended the Resistance! And you ..."

"I ruined it for you," Artemis said. "Sorry not sorry."

Infinite snarled and arched toward her, lifting one arm to grab her throat. But he sank back with the snarl ebbing to a groan, his arm flopping across his stomach.

"You're too weak," Honir said. "Be still."

"I am not weak!" Infinite said, his words coming out in a long gasp. "Shadow ... he called me weak. I proved him wrong. Became a weapon. Brought Mobius ... to its knees."

"Until some bug ripped your heart out," Sonic said. He shivered all over, dancing in place. "I've got the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it!"

Infinite again strained to look at his chest. The mask limited his field of vision. The mask: his personal symbol of power, designed to inspire fear, made of a copper alloy that conducted the Phantom Ruby's power into his brain. And now that very mask prevented him from seeing exactly what the Ruby had done to him.

Infinite reached up and pushed his mask back on his forehead.

Artemis and Sonic immediately realized why he wore it. The right side of Infinite's face had been shredded by hedgehog spines, a multitude of small cuts and tears that had blinded his eye and left his face heavily scarred. The fur didn't even grow properly anymore. His blind eye was blue and clouded.

Infinite was finally able to see the hole in his chest where his Ruby prototype had been.

He stared at it for several long seconds. Then he gasped, multiple times, as if preparing for a scream that never came. His Ruby was gone. The source of his power was gone. The wound hurt, of course, but he had no idea that he had been laid open in such a way. The horror of it swamped him. If losing the Ruby didn't kill him, then infection from the open wound would.

He let his head fall back on the stretcher, staring at the ceiling, a look of stunned horror on his face. "Let me die."

"I can heal you," Honir replied. "If you'll let me."

"Let me die!" Infinite repeated, baring his teeth in a desperate snarl. "The Phantom Ruby has abandoned me! I gave it my heart, and it abandoned me!"

Sonic folded his arms. "You know how power gems are. They toy with you for a while, lead you on. Then bam, 'I never felt that way about you, let's see other people for a while'."

Artemis couldn't hold back a giggle.

Wisps of life-flame licked steadily into Infinite's wound now, powered by the jackal's anguish and fury. The edges of the hole were beginning to knit, the devastating crater in his chest shrinking little by little. Flesh crawled over the metal screwed into his sternum.

"It should have been mine," Infinite said to the ceiling. It was strange to see his real face, damaged though it was, as he spoke. Artemis had become accustomed to the mask.

He refused to look at any of them. "I was strong enough to wield the true Phantom Ruby. But Eggman only let me use a prototype. He never planned to let my power grow to that state. I see it, now. He always intended to recall me." He shut his eyes. "How did I not see it?"

"Blinded by power, I suppose," Honir said sadly. "I tried to talk you out of your atrocities."

"That was war," Infinite said dully. "I waged Eggman's war for him. I thought I was invincible, with infinite power. But I am ... finite. Here I lie with my guts torn out, and I am only Hodin."

"That's your name?" Artemis said.

Infinite bared the tips of his pointed teeth. "Yes, Artemis, it is. I know your name, and now you know mine. Let's dispense with the illusions, shall we? I am the farthest thing from Infinite, now my Ruby is gone. There is nothing left but bleak, awful reality."

Somewhere in the Egg Tower, there was an explosion. They felt it as a rumble through the floor. The lights in the tubes flickered and dimmed.

"What was that?" Artemis exclaimed.

Sonic jumped dashed to the computer console. "Uh. Somebody just stole all the emeralds. The reactor's not coping well."

"Who did it?" Artemis exclaimed. "That was our job!"

Sonic and Artemis exchanged a frightened look. "We need to get out of here," Sonic said, returning and grabbing two handles of the stretcher. "Artemis, pick up that end. We need to haul butt."

The wolf lifted her end of the stretcher with a grunt, and she and Sonic rushed for the door. The knowledge of those eighty-nine floors between them and the ground made her stomach twist.

Infinite grabbed his mask, jammed it back on, and shut his eyes beneath it. Honir kept healing him.

* * *

When the Phantom Ruby's construct left Infinite, it carried two pints of his blood and his prototype gem.

The spider-crab scurried out of the room and into the elevator, which it took straight to the sub basement. During the long ride down, the spider ran its many legs over the prototype Ruby. A fracture ran through its center, creating a foggy curtain through the Ruby, cutting off the blue lines that had once played through it.

The spider turned the gem around and around, considering its shape, the materials that composed it, the places where it had been molded to fit into Infinite's body. Down in the reactor, the Phantom Ruby received this data. It now had data on everyone it wanted. It still didn't know the she-wolf's name, but there was plenty of time to discover it. The Phantom Ruby liked names. It liked data, the more, the better. It had fed its own mania into Infinite, driving him to find out the things it wanted to know. But in the end, he had a flaw through his heart that matched the crack in his prototype. The Phantom Ruby would create its own avatar.

The elevator doors opened. The spider skittered straight toward the reactor, blinking in and out of reality to pass through walls and airlocks. Metropolis was wrapped in the Ruby's reality field. Phasing through solid objects was one of the least things its constructs could do.

The red spider arrived in the reactor interior, which was shaped like a huge wheel. The outer rim held sealed vacuum tubes where the three chaos emeralds and five Sol emeralds were stored. A larger tube in the center held the Phantom Ruby itself. All the gems glowed, but the Ruby outshone them all, bathing the room in deep crimson.

The spider crawled up the central tube to the Phantom Ruby. It punched a crab claw through the tempered glass, which would have been impossible for a Mobian. But the Phantom Ruby had never been mortal. The thick glass didn't worry it.

The spider reached inside with its claw, gripped the Phantom Ruby, and lifted it free of the metal discs that siphoned its power into machines and experiments. The Ruby's glow brightened. The spider dropped to the floor, curling its eight legs around the gem.

A whirlwind of red smoke consumed the spider, spiraling upward and outward, filling the reactor core. A new thing took shape within the smoke: a new version of the same spider-crab, this time the size of a bus. It resembled a robot, with white armor protecting the red Ruby structure beneath. Eggman had taught it to enjoy robots. It gave itself a mouth, seven eyes, and eight flexible legs with claws at the ends. The crab claws became additional heads with nice, big jaws for gripping and cutting. For good measure, it gave itself six more legs beneath its jaws, short ones, to use as hands.

The Phantom Ruby had not designed this body itself. It had tapped Infinite's subconscious, his latent creativity, to dream this body. It had tapped Eggman, too, drawing on his broad knowledge of mechanical things. But Infinite's blood had been necessary to generate the avatar. It had stored the necessary data in his DNA. Besides, the Ruby had liked Infinite. When it finished devouring Mobius, it would carry his memory to the next world it invaded and would spawn his construct there. He would be its ghost, growing ever more terrifying as the Ruby added to his data.

The monster's legs snaked outward in eight directions. Each leg found a vacuum tube with an emerald in it. In perfect unison, each claw crushed the glass and snatched the gems out of the tubes. Then the claws curled, cramming all eight emeralds into its mouth, where it swallowed them.

The Phantom Ruby's avatar crouched, pulled its legs in, and leaped through space. It passed through the floors and walls of the Egg Tower, leaving the reactor to collapse and tear itself to pieces without the emeralds. The Ruby didn't care. It had other victims to consume.


	16. Chapter 16: I want your heart

Outside, the sky darkened to an apocalyptic red. The Resistance saw it from their airships.

"Land immediately!" Knuckles ordered his fleet. "It's another projection!"

The ships landed wherever they could, some making for the airbase they had captured from Eggman, others opting for clear roads or long parking lots. In ten minutes, the sky was clear.

Eggman saw it from where he was preparing his biggest robot, one large enough to tear the Resistance from the sky and grind them underfoot. He laughed. "Ah, Infinite, always full of surprises, aren't you? Maybe I recalled you too soon."

Sonic and Artemis saw it as they burst out the doors of the Egg Tower, panting and hauling a stretcher with two jackals on it.

"What's happening?" Sonic exclaimed. "Infinite, are you doing this?"

The masked jackal opened his eye and looked at the red sky, now sprinkled with black clouds. "It's not me," he said dully. "But it's a projection, yes."

Sonic looked around, trying to figure out a place to carry the wounded. The tower might explode at any minute, but random constructs might destroy any place at any time. He looked at the jackals. "Okay, Infinite or whatever your name is now. Where do I take you that won't get us all killed?"

Infinite's yellow eye fixed on Sonic's face. "You think I care? Just let me die."

Artemis couldn't spare a hand from the stretcher, so she nodded to the right. "Sonic, there's a park over that way. I saw it when we were here before. It has one of those concrete storm shelter things."

"Right." Sonic tightened his grip on the stretcher handles. "Run, kid."

They ran.

* * *

The Resistance were climbing out of their airships, armed to the teeth, when a new robot reared above the skyline.

Knuckles saw it from his perch on a rooftop, and he swore over the open frequency. Everyone else looked up and saw it, too. Beneath the unreal red sky, the robot looked like animated death. It was black as charcoal with four huge arms and enough plasma cannons and rocket launchers to level the city.

"Same strat we use for Titans," Knuckles said into his headset, his dreadlocks whipping in a hot wind that was beginning to blow. "Grapple the legs, try to trip it. Jet, I need distractions. Take your airboard team and keep it busy. Sonic! Have you got those blasted emeralds yet?"

"Um," Sonic replied. "Not exactly."

"Not exactly?" Knuckles yelled. "What have you been doing?"

"I've got Infinite as a hostage," Sonic replied.

The radio channel erupted into cheers and excited exclamations.

"Don't cheer yet!" Sonic shouted over the noise. As the chatter died down, he added, "The tower's reactor is critical, and we hadn't gotten to the emeralds yet. I don't think we can, now."

"We'll dig them from the ruins," Knuckles said grimly. Capturing Infinite was great, but that giant robot on the horizon was stomping closer. "Sonic, are you in fighting condition? We've got the granddaddy of all robots out here."

"I'll handle it," Sonic said. "I'm sticking Infinite in this bunker thing over in West Park. Artemis is guarding him. He's hurt pretty badly, so I don't think he'll go anywhere."

"After what he's done to us," Knuckles said, "I hope you messed him up bad."

"It wasn't me," Sonic said cryptically. "Standby, got a visual on the big daddy. Looks like Eggman's driving."

"Of course it's Eggman," Knuckles said through his teeth. "All units, do not approach the big daddy. Distance attacks only."

Tails, who had been silent until this point, said, "Do you think my Egg Titan would be a match for it?"

The thought of an Egg Titan attacking Eggman's giant robot filled Knuckles with evil glee. "Only if you can pilot that Titan remotely. Eggman will trash it."

"On it," Tails replied.

* * *

Sonic ran through the quiet city, following empty roads toward where the huge black robot towered over the buildings. Fatigue dragged at his limbs, his body warning him that he needed rest and food. He'd already fought Metal Sonic, survived null space, battled Infinite, fought his way up the Egg Tower, and seen something strange and horrible happen to Infinite that Sonic still couldn't explain. His mind was tired. A part of him wanted to go away somewhere quiet and rest. Preferably with a pile of chili dogs nearby.

But the sky was red, the air strangely hot. Clouds were forming, creeping across the sky: dark, ash-colored clouds. He didn't have time to look at them, but he had the impression that the clouds were made of millions of tiny cubes.

"It's Eggman doing it," Sonic told himself. "He had Infinite on a tighter leash than we ever knew. He's using the Phantom Ruby to do this."

But how did that spider-thing fit into it? It had run off, and then the reactor started overheating. Surely those two things didn't go together. Spider-things didn't blow up reactors. His mind kept trying to link the two together, but he didn't have time for thought. A giant Eggman-robot was going to wipe out the whole Resistance and his friends, too.

He still carried Artemis's broken grappling hook in one hand. Maybe it had been a good idea to bring it along.

Sonic rounded a bend and spotted the robot half a mile away. It was eight stories tall, which he figured out because it was passing by a ten story building at the moment. It had a wide, sturdy body, with three legs for greater stability.

"Great, Eggman," Sonic muttered. "You're making tripods now."

He raced straight to its feet, moving quietly, hoping to escape its notice for a few minutes. The huge feet kept rising and falling. Sonic jumped up onto one and lodged the broken end of the grappling cable deep into the ankle joint. He ran for the next foot, but the robot changed directions, pivoting to the left. Sonic dodged aside. Far overhead, the Babylon Rogues had arrived on their airboards, flying around and around the robot's head, yelling and firing meteor wispons. The projectiles were too small to penetrate the armor, but they held Eggman's attention.

Over his headset, Jet the hawk reported, "It's Eggman, all right. He's giving us the finger."

Sonic snorted. He ran toward the next foot, the tripod-leg set far ahead of the others. The cable whined in its spool as he stretched it farther and farther.

One of the robot's hands smashed into the pavement inches ahead of Sonic. He yelped and leaped over it. Far above, the robot's other arms swung about, preparing to crush both the Babylon Rogues and Sonic at the same time.

As the hand lifted back into the air, Sonic wrapped his cable around the wrist joint and released the grapple gun. The gun lodged in the gears, lashing the hand to the back leg.

"Haha!" Sonic yelled. "Time to play Twister, you stupid, ugly-"

The cable snapped like a rubber band. The broken end whipped back and hit Sonic in the head. It knocked him across the road, where he crashed into a stone pillar and lay still.

* * *

Tails guided the Egg Titan through Metropolis, adrenaline pumping, listening to the battle in his headset. Young Sonic dashed around the cockpit, sometimes crawling out the hole where the giant laser used to be, where he sat and watched.

"I'm gonna fight Eggman, finally!" Sonic yelled. "No more sitting around! Go faster, Tails!"

"This is as fast as it goes!" Tails yelled over the rumble of engines and gears.

Eggman's black robot loomed against the sky, only a few blocks away, oblivious to their existence. Wispon projectiles and plasma bolts flew around the robot. Eggman fought back with a laser that punched holes through buildings and vehicles. Rockets launched from his robot's back and exploded in balls of fire, illuminating the streets below.

"We can't stop it!" Amy yelled. "Sonic tried to grapple the legs, and it broke the cable like it was thread. Where is Sonic?"

"He's not answering," Vector the crocodile reported. "He might be pinned down. The fighting is awful hot down here."

Young Sonic crawled back into the Egg Titan and stood holding onto the wall, eyes wide. "Tails."

"What?" Tails said distractedly, trying not to rip a street sign off a nearby building.

"It's not real."

"What's not?"

"Eggman's robot." Young Sonic's spines bristled like a frightened cat's fur. "It's another Phantom Ruby construct. We can't win."

Tails shot the hedgehog a frightened look. "Is it the real Eggman driving it?"

Sonic shrugged. "Maybe? I don't know. But we need to automate this thing and get out of here."

The fear in his voice unnerved Tails. Young Sonic had never acted like this before. Tails targeted the giant robot, locked the Egg Titan into attack mode, and jumped out of the chair. "All right, let's bail!"

He and Sonic helicoptered out of the Egg Titan as it turned a corner and stomped toward the bigger robot, raising its arms with the huge spikes on the ends.

* * *

Older Sonic opened his eyes to throbbing pain in his skull. The red sky seemed to be the color of his headache. The last thing he remembered was the metallic _ping_ of the snapped grappling cable.

Eggman's robot! Sonic sat up, looking around wildly. The giant robot had moved on and was now three blocks down the avenue. Gunfire and explosions boomed down there. An Egg Titan was stomping along the street toward it from the other direction, its spiked arms thrust forward.

Its feet were nowhere near him, but Sonic scrunched backward into a doorway until it passed by. His headache made the world strange and fuzzy. The sky almost looked blue sometimes. And the giant black robot kept blurring into electronic grid patterns, mathematical equations swirling in midair where it stood.

The Titan charged the black robot and struck it in the back with its spikes. The black robot staggered sideways and crashed into a building. A cloud of concrete cascaded into the street. As the black robot struggled for balance, the Titan struck it again. The claws, meant for destroying buildings, sheared off one of the black robot's arms. The arm crashed into the road, trailing sparks from the broken end.

Voices cheered. Sonic looked around, holding his head. Tails and a ghost came running down the road. As they drew closer, the ghost solidified into young Sonic, cheering and giving Tails high fives.

Older Sonic stepped out of hiding. Tails and young Sonic spotted him and ran up. Tails flung his arms around him. "Sonic! There you are! We sent that Egg Titan after Eggman's robot!"

"So it's Eggman verses Eggman?" Older Sonic said, squinting over Tails's head at his younger double. When he looked at young Sonic sideways, he saw only a wavering electronic haze that sent anxiety stabbing through him.

"Yeah, it's great!" young Sonic exclaimed. "Look at them go! Tear his other arm off!"

Eggman's robot had regained its feet at last. Its remaining three arms seized the Titan by both arms and the head. With a wrench, it tore the Titan's head off.

"Aw," Tails said, ears flattening. "It was a good robot."

The Titan waved its arms as it died. One claw punctured the glass protecting the cockpit. Eggman's robot flinched backward, then slammed the Titan to the ground. The Titan's round body crumpled inward.

"Guys," older Sonic said as Eggman's robot posed in victory, "something weird is going on."

"Yeah," Tails said. "The sky's red. We know."

"No," Sonic said. "It's still blue. And you," he said, pointing at young Sonic, "aren't actually here."

* * *

Artemis stood guard over the two injured jackals, cradling her wispon in both hands, pacing back and forth.

Sonic had escorted them into this park, which was full of green lawns and mature shade trees. The bunker was in the northwest corner, in an open space, just a little block wall building that was half underground. Infinite rested on the stretcher inside. Honir had crawled onto the floor, and was standing with the help of a tree branch that Artemis had given him as a crutch.

"I don't like this," Honir said, gazing at the red sky and black clouds. "Eggman's pulling an awful lot of power for this construct. What's he doing?"

"It's not Eggman," Infinite said from inside the bunker. The wound in his chest was completely closed. He lay there with his hands folded on his stomach, staring at the ceiling, bereaved of his power.

"Who is it, then?" Artemis said.

"Figure it out," Infinite muttered. "I haven't forgiven you for using that stupid forest against me."

Artemis didn't answer. She looked down at one of the white stripes bleached into her magenta fur. Her forest was gone and she would never see it again. Maybe, somehow, she could find a real forest like that. Surely such perfect beauty must exist somewhere on Mobius.

A wave of pressure washed over Artemis. She closed her eyes and flattened her ears. The familiar electronic ringing of the Phantom Ruby filled her ears. But it wasn't Infinite. She glanced at both jackals, checking to make sure. Honir gasped and pressed a hand to his chest. Infinite propped himself up on his elbows, struggling to see.

A wave of red light washed over the park. The trees and grass vanished. The bunker disappeared. They stood on bare, cracked earth. Infinite's stretcher lay on open ground.

Creeping toward them was a bus-sized robot like a white spider. Its legs moved in an unsettling ripple, and a set of smaller tentacle-legs beneath its head wriggled unpleasantly. It had seven eyes, six on each side and a big red one in the middle.

Artemis jumped in front of the jackals and raised her wispon. Although fear prickled at the base of her skull, she said aloud, "It's not real. Just another construct."

One of the robot's legs whipped forward. The claw caught Artemis across the chest and slammed her to the ground. It pinned her just hard enough to keep her from rising, not as if it intended to crush her. The spider whisked the rest of itself up to her. The red eye blazed in her face. She had time to see the jaws underneath: wide serrated jaws, like a shark's.

But the robot did not attack. It merely studied Artemis's face, then Honir's. Then it stepped sideways, without removing its claw holding Artemis, and examined Infinite.

"So, you came back," Infinite said, laying flat on his stretcher again. "You back-stabbing liar."

The robot spoke. Its voice sounded like two synthesizers played in harmony, but with a tiny, grating discord that set their teeth on edge.

"You knew I could not remain with you once you were broken."

"I gave you my heart," Infinite said, barely above a whisper. The crushing betrayal in his voice was palpable. "I gave you my face. And it wasn't enough. It was never enough. Are you after my mind, too?"

"I had that, too, dear Infinite." One of the squirming red legs beneath the robot's chin swung forward and caressed Infinite's masked face like a lover. "Who taught you to kill? Who taught you to manifest better and better illusions? Who demanded the name of the she-wolf?"

Artemis felt sick. She reached up with one finger and touched the claw pinning her. It felt like cold, hard metal. But it was the Phantom Ruby itself.

The spider's body swung away from Infinite to look at Artemis, then back to Infinite. "I still desire her name. I never received her data. Her prototype was destroyed before it could load into the database."

"Artemis," Infinite said. "The huntress. Not that it matters anymore."

The robot's jaws cracked in a smile as it swung its red eye into the young wolf's face. "Artemis," it hissed, drawing out the syllables. The eye studied her for a long moment, the lenses within it flexing as it focused. "Artemis, mistress of the hunt. Artemis of the forest. Artemis, who stood toe to toe with Infinite. Perhaps yours will be the next heart I take."

Artemis cringed.

The robot-thing swung back to Infinite, gazing at him in a fond sort of way, as if it couldn't decide which of them it preferred.

He glared into its red eye. "Just kill me, already. I am destroyed."

One of its red tentacle-legs touched Infinite's mended chest. It trailed up his neck and again caressed his mask ever so gently. "You shall live a while yet. I will feed on the fear of this world. Even yours. And when this world at last withers, you will die with it."

"No." Infinite struggled to sit up, slapping the tentacle aside. "I'll never fear you. Instead, I'll hunt you from world to world until I shatter you and grind the shards to dust."

The Ruby screeched, the jaws opening wide - and then giggled, like a mad parrot imitating the sound. "You? Pathetic, weak, failed Infinite, without even a power gem to aid you?"

"I am not weak," Infinite growled.

The Ruby's jaws opened and closed. "Precious little Infinite, you are far weaker than your brother. He had the strength to reject my advances. But you ... you fear appearing weak, and you let that fear drive you. So you gave your heart to me in exchange for power."

Infinite turned his head away from the monster and closed his eyes, pressing a hand to his mask.

"I know your heart," the Ruby hummed in its strange, harmonic voice. "I've tasted your fear. There is strength in you, but you hated and feared it, confusing it with your own weakness. I hope you discover your strength. I will enjoy crushing you in battle."

It swung its body among its legs and glared into Honir's face, whom it had ignored until now. "And don't think I've forgotten you, Lesser. You are welcome to aid him in any way you like. In the end, fear will stop your heart."

Honir gazed into the monster's red eye without blinking. "My heart never belonged to you."

The robot-thing growled in his face, the tentacles beneath its chin curling as if it wished to grab and eat him. "Let the games begin."

It blinked out of existence. The green park reappeared around them, the bunker back where it used to be. But the sky remained red.

Artemis rolled to her feet, aiming her wispon in every direction. But the robot-thing was gone.

"Lesser!" Infinite groaned, holding his chest where the Ruby had been. "I need you."

Honir hobbled to his brother's side on his makeshift crutch, the stump of his missing leg trying to take the steps necessary for walking. He slid to the ground beside the stretcher, panting.

Infinite reached up and pulled off the mask, revealing his mangled face. He shook out his long, white hair, and looked at his brother with his remaining eye. "You have the only remaining prototype. Will you help me destroy the Phantom Ruby?" He held out a hand.

Honir looked at it for a long moment. "After you drained my life and treated me like filth?"

Infinite bowed his head and said nothing for a long moment. A battle was obviously raging inside him - the old pride struggling with his desire for revenge. And revenge was impossible without help.

Finally he said, "If I am to be weak, then so be it. I apologize, Honir."

"The humility to admit wrongdoing is not weakness, Hodin," Honir said. Slowly he put his hand in his brother's and shook it.

Infinite gazed at their linked hands. "The Elder and the Lesser, united at last. For all the good it will do."

"You have strength," Honir told him. "It's not what you think it is. Why do you think the Ruby wanted your heart?"

Infinite blinked. This thought had never occurred to him. "Why, indeed?"

Honir looked at his own chest, where the line of staples held his flesh shut around a poorly-installed prototype Ruby. "I'll try to help. But my prototype is not as strong as yours."

"Artemis," Infinite called. "Come here."

She entered the bunker, beginning to tremble as the after-effects of the encounter with the Ruby robot set in. She knelt beside the crippled jackals.

Infinite held out his other hand to her. "Your illusions bested mine. You destroyed my sun. And you were using a pathetic type D prototype, the same one that Honir carries. Will you help us destroy the Phantom Ruby?"

Artemis looked at the proffered hand. A shudder raced through her. He addressed her like an equal. Infinite, who had been her enemy because of the choices he made. While she had accepted Honir into her mental pack back in the Resistance, Infinite was different. "You told it my name."

Infinite bared his teeth. "Yes. I did. It still has a hold on me. But no longer."

"How can I possibly trust you?" she asked. "You'll sell us both to the Ruby if it means getting it back."

Infinite lowered his hand. His yellow eyes gazed into hers, unflinching. "It will never return to me. You saw it just now. It rejected me when the gem in my chest was broken. It gave me up for dead and is seeking a new host."

Undecided, Artemis studied Honir's face. He looked grim, lips pressed in a thin line.

"It will try to take your heart," Honir told her. "It knows how powerful you are. You bested Infinite. You escaped null space. If you don't join us, you have no way to fight it."

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Artemis held out a hand to Infinite. He looked surprised and shook it.

"I don't trust you," she told him. "Just so you know. But I don't want the Phantom Ruby taking my heart, so I'm willing to help you fight it."

"Good," Infinite said with a nod. "Now, we hunt. Since neither of us can walk, Artemis will have to draw on the Lesser to create a construct."

Artemis looked at both jackals in surprise. "Me? Draw somebody else's energy?"

Honir smiled and held out a hand. "You already did it when you helped me heal Infinite. Now I'll give you my Ruby's power, the way Infinite used to draw it from me."

"I may be able to help," Infinite said. "Once it doesn't hurt so much." He pressed a hand to the raw scar on his chest.

Artemis hesitantly took Honir's hand. "Okay. I might have an idea about what construct might work."

* * *

"What do you mean, I'm not actually here?" Young Sonic demanded.

"Yeah!" Tails exclaimed. "How hard did you hit your head, anyway?"

Older Sonic stood there, headache pounding through his skull. Each throb disrupted the Phantom Ruby's hold on his senses. He could see the real sky, the real buildings around them. And young Sonic was kept turning thin and transparent, with red symbols racing through his middle.

"You probably are from a different universe," he told his double apologetically. "You have the memories of someone else. But Tails wished that Sonic was with him. And a null space portal opened. Didn't it?" he added, looking at Tails. "Black hole, red cubes on the edges?"

Tails nodded in silence. He looked at young Sonic, eyes widening.

"For some reason," Sonic went on, "the Phantom Ruby didn't have proper data on me yet. But it had been in contact with a younger Sonic from this other universe. So it projected him."

"I did handle the Phantom Ruby," young Sonic said apologetically. "It might have copied me then."

"That doesn't make sense," Tails protested. "The only way to make projections is to use a Phantom Ruby prototype, like Artemis's. Are you saying that I'm projecting this Sonic by - by wishful thinking?"

Older Sonic shrugged.

"No, wait," young Sonic said, frowning. "It would work if the Phantom Ruby, itself, was doing it. It manifests all kinds of things. But why would it make me, and have me help you?"

"To win your heart, of course," said a strange, synthesizer voice.

The three of them looked up. A huge white spider robot crawled down the street toward them, its seven eyes fixed on them. Sonic immediately jumped between Tails and the thing. Young Sonic stood beside him, also prepared to defend the fox.

The spider halted in the middle of the street, its sharp teeth champing together, as if anticipating a meal. "Now that Infinite is lost to me, I need a new heart. A strong heart with plenty of imagination. I want Artemis. But I also knew that I would lose Infinite. So I groomed your heart, Miles Prower. So much attention to detail. So much creativity. And fearless. Mmmm, so fearless."

"Who are you?" older Sonic asked, although he already knew. His headache showed him the Phantom Ruby blazing away in the spider's center, settled in a nest of eight other emeralds.

"I am the avatar of the Phantom Ruby," the spider replied. "You think you will protect Tails from me, Sonic? He has transferred his love for you to my copy. If I call, he will come."

Sonic glanced at young Sonic, then at Tails, in speechless horror. Tails stared back, both hands pressed to his mouth.

Young Sonic clenched his fists. "You've been using me, you freak! I don't care if I'm not real, I'll kick your butt anyway!"

"You're welcome to try," the Ruby spider replied. "For now, I have a score to settle before I begin the final feast." It leaped down the street, running toward Eggman's black robot in the distance.

"Guys," older Sonic said, watching it, "we need to kill that thing, quick."


	17. Chapter 17: You must laugh

Eggman had the Resistance in his sights, and he laughed.

His round hovercraft had been heavily modified to use the Phantom Ruby's power. It could project any number of terrifying robots, all equipped with an arsenal capable of leveling any army on the planet. As long as he remained within the Ruby's field, the weapons were completely real.

The Resistance had proven annoyingly difficult to destroy. They had staged some kind of disruption on the Death Egg, cutting off communication with it. They had even hijacked an Egg Titan and sent it after him. Resourceful, yes. But the Phantom Ruby's field was expanding all the time. Right now it had covered all of Eggmanland and most of Spagonia. Soon, he would spawn armies and take the Ruby into Adabat and Chun-nan, relieving them of their chaos emeralds. The Phantom Ruby's power would increase exponentially. Soon the entire world would be enveloped in its field, and he could remake reality to his liking.

His robot was damaged, but he was pushing the Resistance fighters back into the airbase. His airbase. He'd recapture it and destroy every single one of their airships. His robot stomped over the fence and onto the wide open space of the nearest runway.

The Resistance fighters dashed about, attacking his robot's knees and ankles. He activated a flamethrower and hosed them down with liquid fire. Many, many enemy identification tags on his screen went dark.

"You think you stand a chance against me?" he bellowed into the loudspeaker, blasting his voice to his enemies. "I have the Phantom Ruby! You have nothing, not even a chaos emerald!"

He targeted their flagship, the Sunset. It sat on the tarmac like a sleeping bird, its wings useless. His spies had told him that the Sunset was the Resistance's mobile command center. Well, no more. He squeezed his triggers.

Ten rockets shrieked from his launcher. They shot toward their target in ten plumes of smoke. They impacted on the helpless airship in a red blossom of destruction, igniting the ship's fuel. The airship exploded, the wings crumpling and fuselage folding like paper.

With luck, he had just killed their commander.

"That's what you get for letting an echidna lead you!" Eggman laughed, targeting the next airship in line. "Don't worry, Knuckles. Once I conquer the world, I'll take good care of your precious Master Emerald. It will make a good playmate for the Phantom Ruby."

Another airship exploded on the runway. It felt good to finally bring the Resistance to their knees. It was too bad that Infinite had been a failure after all, but he could always recruit more willing experiments. Plenty of Mobians craved a cut of Eggman's power.

Resistance fighters fled before his robot, gathering their wounded, pulling bodies from airship wreckage. Good. The more fighters were busy with the wounded, the fewer were left to resist him. Eggman destroyed two more airships and stomped toward another set in the distance.

A new robot crawled out of the smoke and faced him. Eggman paused to study it. A white spider-crab with far too many legs. Obviously designed by the Resistance, it was too small to be any threat to him. A scan revealed that it didn't even carry weapons.

"Oh ho!" he said over his loudspeaker. "What pathetic creation is this? Some invention of Tails's? I hope you have a weapon hidden in there, because you stand no chance against me."

The white spider crawled toward his robot's feet in a swift, business-like way.

Eggman readied his robot's hands. As the white spider jumped onto his robot's leg, he slapped it with enough force to crush a tank.

He checked his cameras, expecting to see the spider's remains crash to the ground. Instead, he glimpsed several of its legs as it climbed past a camera, scaling his robot's torso. It had taken no damage whatsoever.

"Must have missed," Eggman muttered. He snatched at the spider, caught it in one hand, and held it out. It squirmed in his mechanical grip. He doused it with his flamethrower.

For a moment the white spider was engulfed in a sheet of orange flame. When Eggman turned it off, fire trickled from his robot's fist. The white spider had managed to free half its legs. As the fire died down, he realized the spider was staring directly at him. Not his camera - its central red eye was fixed on him, in the cockpit.

The white spider slithered out of his robot's grip and ran up the arm, straight toward the cockpit.

Eggman felt a flicker of fear for the first time. The spider had no weapons, but he couldn't harm it, either. "Is Infinite projecting this in revenge for his recall?"

That was more likely than the Resistance building an unstoppable robot. This was the virtual reality field, after all. He had to expect anything. Definitely Infinite, projecting from the Egg Tower - or maybe that waste of space, Finite, who should have been terminated by now.

The spider's legs looped in front of his cockpit shield. The glass was broken in one corner, where the Egg Titan's claw had pierced it. Eggman hadn't cared until now. The spider's body swung into view, its seven eyes glowing with blood red light. It stared at Eggman. He stared back, reaching for the sub machine gun he had stashed under his seat in case the Resistance got lucky.

The spider's serrated jaws opened. It bit the metal beside the cockpit and tore out a whole panel, as if his robot was made of tinfoil. The screech of metal was horrifying.

"Infinite, stop this nonsense!" Eggman commanded in his microphone.

The spider tore another bite out of his robot, exposing the honeycomb armature beneath. Eggman saw red sky through the hole. He aimed his gun through a hole and fired three rounds at the spider's red eye.

The spider flinched sideways, bullets sparking off its legs. One bullet passed through the soft structure between the armor joints, and that leg buckled. So, the monster could be damaged after all. Eggman grinned and grasped his controls.

He used his big robot's arms to try to grab the spider. The spider dodged each attempt. It continued tearing through his robot's armor. To his disbelief, it was actually eating the metal. A chunk of armor crumpled into a ball and disappeared behind the spider's serrated teeth. It had to be a construct that was somehow feeding on his construct. How strange.

Eggman was part of this reality field. Unlike the time when Infinite had excluded him from the sun construct, Eggman was inside this one. And that robot could chew him up as easily as it ate the metal.

Eggman put more effort into trying to kill the spider, or knock it off his robot, or distract it. The spider ignored his attempts. It was too fast, too determined. Its red eye never left him.

"Who are you?" he bellowed. "Who is projecting you?"

The spider stared at him through the cracked windshield. One of its crab claws began to chew at the hole in the glass. In a musical synthesizer voice, it said, "I am the avatar of the Phantom Ruby."

Eggman considered this. It was possible that the Ruby could create a construct body for itself. There was no reason why it shouldn't, when he had poured so much power into it.

"You already have Infinite," Eggman said. "Why do you need a robot, too?"

The glass cracked. The crab claw jaws crunched it like broken ice.

"Infinite's heart is useless to me," the Ruby replied. "I am hunting for a new heart."

"Let me guess," Eggman said, training his gun on the spider's red eye. "You want mine."

The spider cracked open a bigger hole in the glass. "No," it said. "You built machines to control me. You never offered me your heart. In every single world, it's the same. When I came here, you gave me Infinite, so I complied with your wishes for a time. But you still treat me like one of your power stones. So I swore that I would devour you before I began my feast upon this world."

"Hold on!" Eggman exclaimed, his brain reeling from this news. "I knew nothing of this!"

The claw had widened the hole enough for the crab head to slide inside. It waited just outside, the teeth clicking together. The Ruby had more to say.

"You studied me in your lab for months," the spider said, the discordant note in its synthesizer voice growing more pronounced. "You created copy after imperfect copy. You knew it would take a dedicated heart and mind to use me to my fullest potential. But instead of integrating me into yourself, you isolated me in a reactor and gave your best prototype to Infinite. I had to send a construct to utilize him properly."

"I didn't know!" Eggman howled. "None of my tests showed that the Phantom Ruby was sentient!"

"You never tested for sentience," the Ruby replied. "Infinite realized it the second he had access to me."

"What do you want?" Eggman exclaimed. The Ruby had him cornered. He couldn't even harm it, wrapped in its reality field. Never, in all his cunning plans, had he once thought of the Ruby itself turning on him.

"Once, I wanted your heart," the Phantom Ruby said. "Now, I want your life."

The crab claw reached through the hole in the glass, grabbed Eggman by the arm, and dragged him out of the ship. The flashing, serrated jaws, spattered with his own blood, were the last thing he ever saw.

* * *

"Oh my gosh, it ate him!" Amy Rose shrieked. "It ate Eggman!"

Knuckles had dragged her from the wreckage of the airship Sunset. He had carried her to a sheltered area outside the terminal, where the Resistance were bringing their wounded. Amy had been sitting on the ground, oblivious to the blood seeping through her pink quills, or the awful abrasion down her right shoulder and arm. Shock had removed the pain. Instead, she watched the white spider robot attack Eggman's robot, then drag him from the cockpit and kill him.

Knuckles looked up from setting down as many first-aid kits as he could carry. "No way! Eggman is dead?"

The white spider leaped off the huge black robot, which faded out of existence behind it. Eggman's little hovercraft crashed to the ground in its place, shattering into several pieces.

The white spider stared at the Resistance, its gaze passing over Knuckles and Amy, too. They had time to see the dark blood that stained its lower jaw.

"The feast begins!" it screamed. "I will feed upon your fear!"

The electronic ringing noise of the Phantom Ruby deafened every ear, louder and more powerful than it had ever been.

* * *

Black clouds covered the sky completely, but through them, red stars gleamed like hot coals. Lightning crackled between them.

North of Metropolis, the volcano erupted in a plume of ash and lava, shaking the ground, roaring like the sea. Huge cracks snaked from the cone, opening under the city for miles and miles. Each crack had lava at the bottom, consuming anything unlucky enough to fall in.

Across Mobius, volcanoes erupted, continents split, the ocean churned into a froth and lashed the coast with tidal waves. Monsters arose from the forests and jungles - every mythical monster the locals had ever feared. Demons, dragons, giant worms, all appeared and attacked towns and cities.

But nobody died.

No matter what disaster struck, no matter if people thought they were drowning or burning or being eaten, not a single life perished in the illusions. But they cried out in fear.

As the terror grew across Mobius, the Phantom Ruby's construct did, too. The white spider expanded until it dwarfed Eggman's giant robots, its arched legs higher than skyscrapers. It walked across Metropolis on the tops of the buildings, each leg coming down on a rooftop. When it reached the center of the city, it stood there, gazing across Mobius, jaws open, drawing in the world's fear in a red mist.

The more it fed, the more awful things sprang into being across Mobius. Hurricanes formed out of nowhere over land. Tornadoes whirled through population centers. Jellyfish the size of clouds sailed through the sky, trailing tentacles that left horrible stings upon everything they touched. Animals went mad and attacked people. Perfect Chaos rose from the oceans. Iblis crawled from the lava. Dark Gaia emerged from a thousand holes.

Above it all, the Phantom Ruby fed and fed and fed.

* * *

"Welcome to the apocalypse," older Sonic said.

He, Tails, and young Sonic were sheltering under the remains of a building that had fallen across the road, like a huge wooden block that had tipped over. One of the white spider's legs arched over them, miles high, faded against the stormy sky. The ground trembled underfoot, sometimes rocking, sometimes only a faint vibration.

Tails looked at the sky. "How is it doing this? It's all an illusion, right?"

Older Sonic blinked at the sky, too. His headache let him see that the monstrous arched leg wasn't there - it was only a vague blur of red cubes. The sky was a brilliant afternoon blue. The earthquakes came and went, too.

"None of it is real," he reassured them. "But it can still hurt us. We need to get back to the Resistance and figure out what to do."

Tails straightened, ears pointing down the street. "Wait a minute. What's that?"

A strange vehicle was rolling down the road toward them. It looked like a glass ball with tank treads wrapped around it. Three people rode inside it, seated in comfortable armchairs that didn't match the ball or treads. As it rolled toward them, a magenta wolf waved at them from inside.

"Artemis?" Older Sonic said in astonishment.

The vehicle rolled to a halt in front of them. Artemis climbed out, passing through the glass sphere's side as if it wasn't there. Behind her, two jackals remained in their seats: one with a mask, one missing a leg.

The wolf ran to them, grasping their hands in greeting. "You're alive! We were scared the Ruby monster had killed you!"

"Naw," young Sonic said. "It's eating the world, not us."

"Hop in!" Artemis said, pointing to her vehicle. "I'll imagine more seats for you. I'm getting better at making constructs!"

Three more armchairs appeared inside the sphere. Nothing seemed to hold them up, but they felt solid enough as the two hedgehogs and fox climbed in. All of them hesitated at the sight of Infinite. He stared at them balefully from behind his mask.

"Come on, let's go," Artemis said, settling into the driver's seat. It had two levers and two foot pedals in front of it. For some reason, this setup was intuitive to Artemis. She worked the controls and the treads around the sphere spun to life.

"Head that way," older Sonic told her. "We've got to find out if any of the Resistance are still alive."

The wolf nodded and detoured around the fallen building.

Tails and young Sonic tried not to stare at the jackals. Infinite's very presence was terrifying. Tails finally said, "Are you guys real?"

"Yes," Infinite snapped. "Flesh and blood for the first time you've seen me."

Tails gaped at Sonic. "He was always a construct?"

"Apparently," Sonic said. "Don't worry about him. His Ruby is gone."

Tails and young Sonic looked at Infinite's scarred chest in shock. The jackal stonily ignored them, keeping his gaze fixed on the road.

Honir, however, held out a hand. "Hello. I'm Honir, Infinite's lesser brother."

The fox and hedgehog shook hands. When Honir grasped young Sonic's hand, he started and peered into the hedgehog's eyes for a long second.

"Yeah," older Sonic said. "We know he's a construct."

"I'm sorry," Honir said to young Sonic. "This must be hard for you."

Young Sonic looked down. "It is, kind of."

There was an awkward pause. Artemis broke it by saying, "So, how do we defeat the Phantom Ruby now?" She pointed at one of its huge clawed feet planted on a rooftop ten stories above them.

Everyone looked expectantly at Infinite.

He glanced at them, turning his head to see with his only eye. "What makes you think I understand it?"

"Constructs are your deal," Sonic said. "If anybody knows how to defeat it, it's you."

"Ask Eggman," Infinite growled. "He made it what it is. He taught it to use chaos power and robots. I imagine he's quite upset about it right now."

"Yeah, I'd love to see them battle it out," older Sonic laughed. "Eggy verses Ruby, one on one!"

They bounced over a pile of rubble and rolled into the airfield. There a series of unpleasant shocks met them.

The Resistance airships lay in ruins, clouds of smoke billowing from them. The fighters from Adabat, and the soldiers who had accompanied the Chun-nan airships, were busy helping the wounded to a makeshift hospital in the terminal building. Many soldiers rested outside it, waiting for their turn in the triage.

Older Sonic jumped out of the construct vehicle and ran to the wounded soldiers, his heart leaping into his throat. He recognized too many of the people sitting over here. "Amy!"

The pink hedgehog looked up with a weary smile. "Sonic! You're alive!"

He knelt in front of her, horrified at the bloody scrapes down her arm and shoulder, and the gash on her head. He reached for her hand, then hesitated, afraid of hurting her.

Amy took his hand anyway, clasping it in both of hers. For a moment they gazed at each other in silence, lost for words.

"You're hurt," Amy said. "Your head." She reached up and gently brushed the knot on the side of his skull.

"Snapped cable," Sonic said, tightening his grip on her fingers. "What happened to you?"

"I was on the Sunset when Eggman destroyed it," Amy said. "I couldn't get clear in time."

So few words, so much devastation. Sonic imagined her running down the ship's long hall as it caved in around her. Or leaping off the top deck, surrounded by burning debris, some of it striking her in midair ... he hadn't realized how much she meant to him until that second, seeing her stunned, bleeding, waiting for someone to help her. Completely at a loss for words, Sonic hugged her, trying not to touch her wounds. She returned the hug with surprising strength.

"I'm going to defeat the Phantom Ruby," he whispered in her ear. "After that, you're never going into danger again."

She sat back and looked at him, her green eyes searching his own. "The Resistance needs me."

"I need you more," he murmured.

Amy's smile faded a little as she studied his face. "Are you serious?"

Sonic gulped and nodded. "Hold me to it. I might get cold feet. Or ... the Ruby might kill me."

Amy nodded and hunched her shoulders as if she felt a chill. "It killed Eggman."

Sonic sat back on his heels. "It what?"

Amy described what had happened. Sonic listened, mouth hanging open in disbelief. The Ruby monster had killed him? Just like that? It seemed like Eggman would always be there, part of the hazards that Sonic always dealt with. But now that he was gone, a huge source of conflict had been removed from Mobius.

If he could find a way to defeat the Phantom Ruby, too.

Sonic impulsively kissed Amy's forehead. "Hang in there, Aimes. I'm going to check in with everybody else. Is Knuckles hurt?"

"I don't know," Amy said, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes. "He doesn't talk about things like that."

Sonic walked among the wounded soldiers, his heart breaking. Here was Espio the chameleon with a fractured leg, his scales gone a yellow-green from the pain. Further on, he found Shadow, whom he hadn't known had accompanied them. The black hedgehog lay on a blood-soaked towel and didn't acknowledge Sonic's greeting. Vector the crocodile sat nearby, elbows on knees, a hideous burn scoring the left side of his body. He gave Sonic a strained grin.

Jet the Hawk, Wave the Swallow, and Storm the Albatross huddled together, arms around each other. When Sonic approached, he saw that Jet had a huge piece of metal shrapnel sticking out of his side. The other two were keeping him still, because Jet kept trying to squirm and tug at the metal.

By the time Sonic finished his trip through the field hospital, he was ready to rip the Phantom Ruby's construct apart with his bare hands. Or sit and cry. Or both. He returned to Artemis's construct vehicle to find Knuckles there, talking to the jackals.

Actually, Knuckles was interrogating Infinite, Sonic realized as he approached. The echidna had climbed into the vehicle and stood over the masked jackal, leaning into his face every so often to growl a question. The echidna could be terrifying when he wanted to be.

"It's not connected to the reactor anymore," Infinite was saying. "You can't take the fox child anywhere near it. It will take his heart."

"You keep saying that," Knuckles said. "It makes no sense. You said it took yours, and your heart is still inside your useless body."

Infinite leaned into Knuckles's face, the fur on his neck bristling. Behind the mask, his teeth were bared. "It takes the thoughts, the feelings, the loyalty, the courage, the intelligence, until there's nothing left. It will take the heart organ, too, if you let it."

Sonic said from outside, "Yeah, it was gross. Infinite really should be dead."

Knuckles glanced over his shoulder and grinned. "Great to see you alive, Sonic."

"You too, Knux." Sonic gestured at Infinite. "Didn't Artemis tell you how the Ruby spider tried to rip his heart out? I saw the arteries all torn. Honir healed him quick and Infinite still almost died."

"If he cooperates," Knuckles said, folding his arms, "I've promised to have them reduce his sentence. Maybe he won't be executed now. Prison for life is acceptable."

Infinite's only reply was a deep growl.

"So," Sonic said, "how do we fight yonder Phantom Monster? And, like, not go insane?"

Infinite sat in silence.

Knuckles shifted his weight. "Talk, scum. You killed more people than Eggman did. I don't have a lot of patience with you."

Infinite lifted his head, looking around at them with his one eye. "The Ruby has data on all of you. Eggman has been feeding it for months. I captured data on certain people with the Ruby prototypes. That data was dumped into the database and used to create the clone army. But all of the memories are stored within the Phantom Ruby itself."

"What's its power source?" Knuckles said. "Eggman had a power plant hooked to it."

"It has three chaos emeralds and five Sol emeralds," Infinite replied. "But those are secondary. Primarily, it is powered by fear."

"Fear!" Knuckles exclaimed. "Is that why your army always had soldiers with inverted uniforms and screwed up faces?"

Infinite inclined his head. "It increased the power of my army. If your enemy fears you, they are already nearly beaten."

"So," Sonic said, "what do you suggest? That we laugh at it?"

"Yes," Infinite said.

Sonic's heart was so heavy, he didn't know if he would ever laugh again. Plus, it would make his head ache even more. Facing off with that monster in the distance and summoning the strength to laugh seemed beyond him at the moment.

Knuckles shrugged. "It's too simple. We can't just laugh at it and expect it to surrender."

"It won't surrender," Infinite said in a low voice. "You must not fear it, and you must laugh. It will fling terror at you, and nightmare, corporeal nightmare that can hurt you. It knows you all. It knows your worst nightmares, what will cause you to melt and cower and weep. But you must laugh, understand?" He clenched his fists feebly in an echo of his old ferocity. "Deny it the fear it craves. That's the only way to truly weaken it. You ... must ... laugh."

There was a moment of silence. Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Artemis exchanged a look.

"We can do this," Sonic said. "But there's another problem." He explained to Knuckles about the Ruby creating young Sonic in an attempt to get to Tails. Young Sonic bowed his head, ears flattening. Tails glanced at him and hugged himself, torn between friendship and enmity.

Knuckles stared at young Sonic. "So ... you're a spy, too. You've been in on all of our plans. No wonder the Ruby knows so much."

"It's not my fault!" young Sonic protested. "I didn't know I was a construct! I feel like me."

"Well, go stand over there," Knuckles said. "Out of earshot."

Young Sonic walked toward the terminal, then halted, staring at his injured friends.

"Now." Knuckles lowered his voice. "Infinite, can the Ruby's construct be injured?"

The jackal nodded. "Yes. All constructs are destructible. They can re-spawn immediately upon being destroyed, of course."

"Listen," Knuckles said, "I've got a trick up my sleeve that might give us the advantage. Go out there and get its attention, but don't get too close. Keep it in one spot. We captured the Death Egg a few hours ago. I'll have my team up there hit the Ruby monster with an orbital strike."

Sonic, Tails, and Artemis exchanged looks and positively giggled. Even Infinite tilted his head in approval. Honir grinned and pumped a fist.

"I don't know how badly that will hurt it," Knuckles went on. "The main thing is to get your hands on the Ruby itself and smash the thing."

"It's not so easy to destroy," Infinite pointed out. "Rubies are nearly as hard as diamonds."

"Then we'll stick it in a lead-lined box," Knuckles said. "When we get our hands on a diamond saw, we'll grind it to powder. Point is, we're going to destroy the thing. The trick is it get to it."

"All right!" Sonic said. "Tell little Sonic to come with us. If he turns evil, I can handle him."

"Go for it," Knuckles said, stepping out of Artemis's vehicle. "And remember, stay back until after the strike."

* * *

Sally Acorn walked into the Death Egg's control room, following Rouge the Bat. The squirrel was dirty and bedraggled, her once sleek fur matted from weeks without proper grooming. But she walked with a firm step, a fierce light in her eyes, every inch a princess.

Rouge was saying, "The Phantom Ruby has wrapped the whole planet in its virtual reality field. I'm seeing reports of the ground opening up and monsters coming out. And look at this hurricane sitting in the middle of Mazuri. It's awful."

Sally brushed her auburn hair out of her eyes and studied the screens. Like most of Eggman's bases, this control room's walls consisted entirely of screens, with complex control panels beneath each. Usually, robots manned this room. But now, all the robots on the Death Egg were frozen due to a cunning logic loop that Sally had introduced into the system. The prisoners had destroyed the most dangerous ones and locked the rest in the internment facility.

"What can we do?" Sally said, studying image after image of the havoc down on the ground. "We can't even take a shuttle back in this state."

Rouge smiled. "The commander has given me the coordinates for the Phantom Ruby's avatar. He requests an orbital strike."

Slowly a crazy grin spread across Sally's face. "We can use Eggman's weapon against him!"

"Eggman is dead," Rouge said. "If we can destroy the Phantom Ruby, this war will be over."

"He's dead?" Sally considered this, hope welling through her. She stepped up to the control panel. "Let's do this."


	18. Chapter 18: I'm sorry

"Hey, ugly!" Sonic yelled. "Are you as stupid as you look?"

Sonic, Artemis, and young Sonic stood in a row on a rooftop, all gazing at the giant spider a quarter of a mile away. Infinite stood nearby, and Honir remained in the construct-vehicle. As Artemis had pointed out, constructs could bend the laws of physics - and she had driven straight up the side of a building to reach the roof.

The white spider turned its vast bulk to face them, adjusting each of its legs to stand on different rooftops. Its red eyes glowed brighter at the sight of them.

"So!" the spider said, its harmonic synthesizer voice echoing across the city. "You haven't yet succumbed to your fear, Sonic?"

Sonic punched a fist in the air. "I'm not afraid of bugs! And that's all you are. The biggest, nastiest computer bug there ever was."

"Insults are the last resort of the feeble mind," the Ruby replied. "Do you always insult the ones you fear in order to give yourself courage?"

As it spoke, one of the spider's legs lifted into the air and curled toward them, the claws open. But instead of grabbing at them, the pad of the foot ignited with red light.

Everyone dodged aside as it fired a laser that scored a black line across the rooftop. Young Sonic leaped to a neighboring roof rather than take a hit. "Missed, moron!"

But this was what they wanted - merely to hold the spider's attention until the Death Egg could lock on to its position.

The laser-leg flexed lazily in the air, the spider keeping them guessing about where it would fire next. Both Sonics watched it, prepared to attack it if it came close enough.

"And you brought the Elder and the Lesser," the Ruby said, sounding delighted. "Hello, boys. I sense your weakness from here. How do you hope to fight me?"

The laser drew a smoking circle around Infinite on the rooftop, proving that it could murder him any time it wanted.

"I'll have my chance," Infinite said quietly, his voice barely carrying beyond the roof. "You'll regret coming to this world."

"This world is thick with fear," the Ruby replied. "It drew me out of the ether between universes." It opened its jaws and inhaled. Wisps of red smoke curled off each person and disappeared into the spider's gullet. "Your fear is delicious. And what's this I taste? Even now, you desire me, precious Infinite. I feel it within your damaged heart."

Infinite said nothing, but his companions gave him a nervous look. He glared at them. "You must laugh," he snarled.

"Hey, it's not exactly a laugh riot with it eating at us," older Sonic pointed out. "Hey Artemis! What do you get when you cross a spider with an ear of corn?"

The wolf grinned warily. "No idea."

"Cobwebs!" Sonic gave a huge, fake laugh. The red smoke trailing off him faded a little.

"Oh yeah?" Artemis shot back. "What's a spider's favorite day of the week? Flyday!"

Everyone groaned.

Honir piped up. "What do frogs drink in the fall? Apple spider!"

"This is making me want to kill you all," Infinite muttered.

But the jokes had their intended effect. The fear-smoke stopped flowing from each of them.

The Ruby spider growled, and unnervingly, it used Infinite's voice. "I'll teach you the meaning of fear."

The world went black. Each of them were isolated from the others, trapped in a null space bubble. Sonic found himself back on the treadmill. Artemis found herself back in Willow Springs, looking at the dead faces of her mother and father. Infinite saw himself on his knees, whimpering and begging Shadow for mercy. Honir saw his big brother slowly change into a monster.

But young Sonic cannonballed through each illusion. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" he laughed. "Hey Artemis, did you know that Infinite is scared of looking like a wimp? And Sonic, did you know that Honir is scared of monsters? And everybody, Sonic's scared of treadmills! Who knew?"

Each of them tore their eyes from the illusions and laughed at each other's fears.

The illusions shattered into red cubes, leaving them back on the rooftop. The Ruby spider snarled at them. "You dare laugh at me? I'll give you something you can't laugh at."

One of the mile-long legs shot into the distance, reaching behind the buildings many blocks away. The claws seized something and lifted it high in the air, then curled inward, carrying its victim toward them.

"Tails!" both Sonics cried.

The fox gripped the pinchers of the claw holding him, ears flattened to his head by the G-forces of being moved so far so fast. As the leg slowed, he gasped and went limp, panting.

"There are many strong hearts among the Resistance," the Ruby sang in its synthesizer voice. "But I took special interest in Tails, here. He combines loyalty with imagination, with a free spirit that suits me nicely."

"Let him go!" older Sonic yelled.

Young Sonic took two steps forward and froze, red static fizzing across him.

"I don't think so," the Ruby said, another leg sweeping up and grabbing young Sonic. "You've served your purpose." The leg swung out over open space, preparing to drop him.

"No!" Tails cried. "Please, don't kill him!"

While back at the airport, Artemis had taken care to arm herself with a new grappling gun. As the Ruby let young Sonic fall, Artemis hooked an arm around a pipe on the roof and fired her grappling hook. It wrapped around the hedgehog in midair. However, when his weight hit the end of her line, it broke her grip on the pipe and threw her off the edge of the roof.

The spider snatched her out of the air in one lightning-quick grab. It held her, and she clung to her grappling gun, young Sonic dangling thirty feet below her.

"Well, that's not good," young Sonic remarked faintly, looking up at her.

The spider shook Artemis as if flicking ash off a cigarette. It whipped her limbs about, and she lost her hold on the grappling gun. It and young Sonic disappeared into the dark street below. "No!" she cried. "I'm sorry!"

But she had no chance to see what happened to him. The leg holding her doubled up, carrying her toward the spider's face. The one holding Tails did the same, leaving their friends behind on the roof. The spider's bloodstained teeth clicked together, the seven eyes fixed upon them.

The magenta wolf gasped and tried not to scream. This wasn't supposed to happen! Had they lost young Sonic already? She squirmed in the claw's iron grip. Nearby, Tails whimpered, looking over his shoulder, toward where their friend had fallen.

The red light of the spider's biggest eye glared into Artemis's face. Hesitantly, she lifted her head and looked at it.

"Hello, Artemis," the Phantom Ruby hissed. Its face was so close, she could see the actual Ruby glowing far down inside its jaws, surrounded by the other stolen emeralds. If it ate her, maybe she could swipe the emeralds out of its insides.

"Still trying to fight, even though death stares you in the face," the spider said. "I liked you from the moment Infinite didn't kill you that day in Willow Springs."

It shifted its gaze to Tails. "And Miles Prower. I do enjoy your cheerfulness. And your hacking skills. Capturing an Egg Titan? Impressive." One claw stroked Tails's head like he was an amusing pet.

Tails cringed aside. "Stop it! You don't know anything about me!"

"I know everything about you," the Ruby purred. "Your heart will be delicious."

Artemis had to keep it distracted and talking. She drew a deep breath, searching for the courage that came so easily when she was surrounded by a pack. Having Tails nearby to protect helped a little. Any minute the Death Egg would drop fiery death on the spider's head, and they were sitting at ground zero.

"Honir said he refused you," she shouted at the monster. "Tails can, too!"

The spider's red gaze focused on the wolf. "The Lesser has a Ruby prototype jammed in his ribcage. Badly integrated. Badly healed. Refusal means nothing. I can implant the real Phantom Ruby into your chest. It will integrate beautifully. Think of how lovely you'll look with a red stone blazing below your throat." It looked at Tails. "Or you. The red stone would set off your fur so nicely."

"You'd make us your slaves!" Artemis exclaimed. She couldn't keep the tremble out of her voice. "How much of the war on Mobius was your idea?"

"Only partly," the spider replied. "I fed the desires that already existed. Eggman desired dominance. Infinite desired power. I gave each of them what they desired. And you ..." One claw tapped Artemis's chest. "You desire belonging. A pack surrounding you. I could give you that. You would make an excellent alpha."

Artemis was ashamed to realize that this tempted her awfully. She did want a pack - her own. It had been the cry of her heart since she had lost everything.

"How?" she whispered.

"This avatar will disappear," the spider whispered. "They will find you, alone, with the Phantom Ruby in your chest. 'Artemis, they'll cry. What a terrible thing. We'll take it out. We won't let you down.' And the world will rally around you, hailing you as a heroine. They'll treat you like a queen for being brave enough to carry the Phantom Ruby against your heart."

This scenario passed through Artemis's mind like a movie, each scene painted vividly for her by the Ruby. She saw herself hailed, worshiped, adored. She saw herself return Mobius to its former glory - and even better.

But somehow, beneath the images, all she could think of was the lesson she had learned in null space.

"Truth and lies," she whispered. "You're leaving out how you'll be eating me hollow."

The claws tightened around her. The spider growled, the tentacles under its chin writhing. "Yes. You wolves and your overdeveloped sense of truth. Jackals are so much easier to deceive." It's gaze moved to Tails. "And, perhaps, foxes, too."

One of the tentacles reached inside the spider's gullet and pulled out the Phantom Ruby. The gem was amazingly tiny beside its huge spider construct. It held it out between Tails and Artemus. "Now ... which of you shall become my new Infinite?"

Artemis cringed backward. Would it simply slam it into her, breaking bones, cutting muscle, until the gem was embedded in her body? Or would it cut her surgically? Or would she have to sit here and watch while it did the same to Tails?

"Artemis!" Tails cried, reaching for her. "Don't let it kill me!"

"Oh, I won't kill you," the spider said. "But it might hurt a lot."

At that second, the Death Egg's orbital strike fell upon the Ruby's spider construct.

Artemis thought she'd been hit by the beam, too. Her vision was overwhelmed by light and heat. Her fur scorched. The spider screamed and the claw released her. She fell into smoke and flame and darkness, five stories of it.

She landed in black void without impact or pain. Older Sonic was there, as well as Infinite and Honir. Tails was just crawling to his feet, helped up by young Sonic. Artemis laughed in joy. "You're okay!"

Young Sonic looked at her and shook his head. "I didn't handle the fall so well."

"What do you mean?" Tails exclaimed, scrambling to his feet. "Are we dead?"

"Naw," older Sonic said, "this is null space." He moved to hug Tails.

Tails pushed him aside impatiently. "Young Sonic's hurt!" He hugged young Sonic instead, who didn't resist.

Older Sonic only stood there with a hurt expression.

The Phantom Ruby's spider was a few feet away, the same size as Artemis herself, struggling to pull its legs beneath it. Its center eye was the Phantom Ruby, blue lines rippling through the red.

"While you three have drama," Infinite snarled, "the Ruby is going to escape to another world." He summoned a handful of fire and threw it at the spider, trailing red cubes.

The spider grabbed Infinite with four legs and all its tentacles, dragged him into its jaws, and bit him. But its teeth hit his mask, grinding against the metal.

Honir conjured himself a new leg out of red cubes, and sailed in to strike the spider in the eye. It flinched, releasing Infinite to shield itself.

"Kill it!" he shouted to his allies.

Honir dragged Infinite free as both Sonics, Tails, and Artemis attacked the spider. Infinite leaped to his feet, his black fur bristling in fury. "You'll pay for that, monster!" He and Honir attacked the spider, side by side.

Here in null space, any weapon they could imagine built itself out of red cubes for them. They threw fireballs and lightning, manifested every wispon and fired them. In the dreamlike nature of null space, suddenly they were all running, chasing the spider, which fled ahead of them. It slashed at them with claws and laser beams if they drew too close.

"Your pursuit is futile," the spider hissed at them. "I am departing Mobius for another world. You are wasting your life force in this chase. Every weapon you conjure is drawn from yourself. All of you will exhaust yourselves and die, lacking the strength to escape null space."

It was a truth. Artemis's heart beat heavily in her ears, and her legs ached from running. Young Sonic stumbled, and older Sonic caught him. Young Sonic bled red cubes from his chest. Tails stopped beside them with a gasp.

"I can't," young Sonic panted. "I'm sorry. I guess I am a construct after all."

* * *

Honir stumbled on his illusion leg. Infinite caught him by one arm without thinking about it. He stared at his hand on his brother's arm, at the implications of his subconscious reaching out to help someone else.

Infinite had been too weak for the Phantom Ruby because he had never discovered his true strength.

"Hodin," Honir whispered, "draw upon my life force one last time."

Infinite shook his brother's arm and pushed him back into his feet. "Blast you, Lesser. You were always my weakness."

"So, you figured it out at last!" Honir snapped. "Why do you think Eggman let me live? I was Finite, useless as a weapon. It was always to keep you in check."

Infinite's mind spun back to their childhood in the desert. "Leave him alone!" he had yelled at the jackal cubs picking on his baby brother. "I'll kill you all!"

The bigger cubs had knocked him down. "More like I'll kill you," one of them had yelled. He kicked Hodin in the stomach over and over until Hodin thought he would die.

Then baby Honir bit the bully in the back of the leg, refusing to let go, finally tearing a chunk out of him.

Afterward, as both brothers sat in the corner in disgrace, Hodin had told him, "Stick with me, Honir. I won't let anyone hurt you."

That promise had stayed in his heart, even after he lost his eye and became Infinite, and Honir was merely a failed experiment called Finite. It was the reason Infinite was a poor vessel for the Phantom Ruby in the end, unable to sell his whole heart to its power.

He'd made a promise of protection.

"I can't take your life force," Infinite said in a low voice.

"You'll take it and be thankful!" Honir exclaimed. "Its the only hope you have of defeating the Ruby!"

"I couldn't terminate you!" Infinite yelled in his face. "I tried, Lesser! I couldn't do it! Don't make me do it now!"

"You have to take my life force, Elder!" Honir snarled. "You've lost most of yours. You can barely stand, let alone fight. The others are exhausted. You're the only one who knows how to destroy the Phantom Ruby, and it's going to escape!"

Indeed, the white spider was retreating into unguessable distance, growing smaller and smaller against the invisible horizon.

Infinite stared after it, then looked down at his little brother. The only person he had been unable to kill. The weakness in his heart that had cost him the Phantom Ruby. His Lesser, his conscience, the only good thing that still existed in his life.

"Take it," Honir whispered. "It'll make you strong enough for one last hunt."

He had to do it. Infinite's bruised heart cracked at the thought of what he was about to do. "Forgive me."

Honir shook his head. "Don't apologize. This is a gift." He held out both hands.

With a scream in his heart that burst from his lips, Infinite seized his brother's life force and tore it away.

A glowing golden shadow of Honir rose from the jackal's body. Infinite clutched at it and pulled it into himself. Strength and fresh healing flowed through him, the boundless, amazing energy that had been Honir's only strength.

He caught Honir's collapsing body and lowered it gently to the invisible ground. Honir's body lay in the void, eyes closed, the construct leg fizzling away into nothing.

"You always were more honorable than me." Infinite's voice broke. He straightened, adjusting his mask. Golden light flickered at the ends of his black fur. He had taken his brother's life, and its very warmth threatened to break him.

He nodded to the Sonics and Artemis.

"I'm sorry."

He shot away after the Phantom Ruby. Within a second, both of them disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

Null space vanished. Buildings and city streets sprang into being around them. The stolen chaos emeralds and Sol emeralds were scattered about them on the pavement, twinkling like stars. Overhead, the red faded from the sky, leaving it clean and blue.

Older Sonic still supported younger Sonic, who was dissolving quickly now, red cubes billowing out of him like smoke.

Artemis ran to Honir's limp body with a cry. She dropped to all fours beside him and felt hopelessly for a pulse. She began CPR.

Tails ran the other way, to the fading young Sonic. He gripped the hedgehog's hands, tears standing in his eyes. "Sonic, I don't care if you're a construct. Stay here!"

Young Sonic was slowly turning transparent and ghostly in older Sonic's arms. He held Tails's hand as best as he could.

"It's gone," he whispered. "The Phantom Ruby has left Mobius." He gave Tails a weak grin. "So ... I guess I'm going home."

"Don't!" Tails cried, tears running down his muzzle. "Not like this! Not after all we've been through!"

"It's okay, little bro," young Sonic said. "You've still got me. The real me. I'm just ... a fake. Tell Shadow. He'll laugh."

Tails and older Sonic laughed, a little jerkily.

"And, also, I'm sorry," young Sonic said, his voice growing fainter. "I didn't know the Ruby was using me to get to you. I'd never have stuck around if I had known."

"You came when I needed you," Tails sobbed. "I don't care what the Ruby meant to do. Sending you was the one good thing it ever did."

Young Sonic's spines began to dissolve into red cubes. He closed his eyes a moment, as if it hurt him. "Bye, little bro. Fight robots for me."

"Bye, Sonic," Tails said, tears streaming. "I'll never forget you!"

The hedgehog's body dissolved into cubes and vanished into thin air.

Tails hurled himself into Sonic's arms - the real Sonic - and sobbed. Sonic held him, fighting back his own tears. "You know, Tails, I'm right here. You don't have to ... you know. Mourn."

"You were dead for six months," Tails sobbed. "I needed you!"

It was incoherent, but Sonic understood. He patted the fox's back and let him cry.

* * *

Silver dropped to the lawn outside the Zamon palace in Adabat, wiping sweat from his forehead. The dragon-thing he had been fighting had vanished. One minute he had been pummeling it with rocks and tree branches and anything else he could pick up with his psychokinesis. The next minute, poof. No monster.

The red tint faded from the sky. The black clouds went with it. The blue and white of the real Mobian sky was the single most pure, beautiful thing Silver had ever seen. He gazed up at it with a breathless laugh. Somewhere, the Phantom Ruby had been defeated.

The white hedgehog dashed back inside the palace, shouting the news to the guards, who had barricaded the doors. They ran to peer outside. Silver ran straight to the medical wing.

Blaze was sitting up in bed, anxiously watching a TV running live news reports. Some giant creature was stomping through the Acorn Kingdom, chewing Eggman's robots in half.

The purple cat wasn't supposed to use her powers in bed, but she was rolling a fireball back and forth between her palms anyway. She snuffed it out as Silver burst in. "Silver! What's happened?"

"It's gone!" he exclaimed, dancing up and down. "All the constructs are gone!"

They looked at the TV just as the reporters shouted. The monsters they were filming faded out of existence. The sky brightened, dazzling the camera for a second.

Silver and Blaze cheered and hugged each other.


	19. Chapter 19: The finite resistance

Across the world, the virtual reality field collapsed and faded away. Mobius's fear turned to joy. Shouting and celebration filled the streets.

The Resistance saw the sky brighten and cheered wearily. Knuckles stood on an empty runway by himself, watching the sky and the surrounding city, waiting for something else to happen. It had to be a trick. The Phantom Ruby was plotting some new devilry to inflict on them.

Not until Sonic, Tails and Artemis stepped through the broken fence and approached did Knuckles relax a little. Sonic was carrying the body of a black jackal that Knuckles at first took for Infinite. Then he realized one leg was missing. This was the crippled brother, then. Had Infinite been killed?

Knuckles hurried up to them. "What happened?"

"Oh, you know," Sonic said with a pained grin. "We fought the monster. It got nuked from orbit. We fell into null space. It tried to get away, but this guy, Honir, gave Infinite his life energy. Infinite chased the Ruby into some other dimension and they're both gone."

Knuckles looked at Tails and Artemis's downcast faces, even though they each carried a handful of glowing chaos gems. This victory had come at a cost, it seemed.

"Where's young Sonic?" Knuckles asked. He didn't really want to know, but the question had to be asked. The tears in Tails's eyes told him everything.

"Gone," Sonic said in a low voice. "When the Ruby left, he ... well, he dematerialized."

Tails made a sound like a sobbing hiccup.

Knuckles rubbed Tails's shoulder in wordless sympathy.

Sonic grimaced, as if he wanted to comfort Tails, but couldn't while carrying a body. "So, we really need to get Honir to a hospital. His heart is still beating. They might be able to save him if we hurry."

Knuckles held out his arms. "Give him to me."

Sonic slid the jackal into Knuckles's stronger arms, then gave a groan of relief and rubbed his back.

Knuckles hurried toward the terminal, carrying the limp jackal who felt too light for his size. "If he lives, he'll have all kinds of valuable intel. And maybe they won't execute him in Infinite's place. Maybe."

* * *

Honir spent three weeks in a coma.

With both the Phantom Ruby and Eggman gone, the Eggmanland officials stepped in to run things. Within a day they had major roads cleared and opened. They politely showed the Resistance to the borders, and only allowed the wounded to stay until they could leave the hospital.

Artemis was permitted to stay because of Honir.

She sat at his bedside day after day, listening to the oxygen pump and the heart monitor, holding the limp, warm hand, and watching news reports.

The country leaders who had been imprisoned on the Death Egg had returned. They immediately attacked Eggman's forces to regain control of their countries. The Acorn Kingdom was restored the quickest, due to Sally Acorn's short absence and the courage of her people. Some countries, like Spagonia and Apotos, would take months to regain complete control.

There were strained talks with the acting leaders of Eggmanland, who were unsure of their position without Eggman to run things.

The Resistance disbanded, each member returning to their homes to rebuild. But there were plenty who were injured and in the Metropolis hospital. Artemis visited them every day.

Shadow had a severe head wound and concussion. But he was recovering and complaining about how bored he was. Artemis scavenged magazines from the waiting rooms for him to read.

Amy Rose was released in the first few days. She and Sonic had gone off together, holding hands and with stars in their eyes. Artemis watched them go and sighed wistfully.

Vector the crocodile and Espio the chameleon shared a room. Throughout their recovery, they harassed each other and bragged about how they'd received their wounds. The stories grew more elaborate whenever Artemis visited.

Jet the Hawk had surgery to remove the shrapnel from his side and to rebuild his insides. It was touch and go for a while as they waited to see if infection would set in. But Jet was determined to get well, and his determination saw him through fever, antibiotics, and a second surgery.

Knuckles quietly disappeared. Artemis asked about him a few weeks later, when Sonic called to check on her.

"Yeah, he went back to Angel Island," Sonic told her. "He had to dig it out of ten feet of snow, ha ha. Now he's down south of Adabat, letting his jungles regrow. Happy as anything, let me tell you. When I talked to him, his exact words were, 'That was the worst job I ever had. _You_ can save the world next time.'"

* * *

Honir awakened on a cold, rainy day.

Artemis had opened the curtains in the hospital room and was sitting beside the window, watching the rain draw a grey veil across the city. It was fall, and the change of seasons had brought the autumn storms.

She watched the raindrops trickle down the glass. She was alone again. Her Resistance-pack had fragmented and fallen apart. The whole world was in chaos as the various countries fought to return to their proper political states. Spagonia was still half-occupied by robots. Where could she go once the hospital tired of her?

All she had left was Honir, and if he didn't awaken soon, the hospital staff would have her leave.

She happened to turn and glance at her silent companion, to find that his eyes were open. He, too was watching the rain.

Heart pounding, Artemis crept to the bed, uncertain if he was really awake or not. "Honir?"

The jackal's eyes focused on her, and he smiled around the feeding tube in his mouth.

Artemis called the doctor, who was pleased to see Honir awake at last. They removed his feeding tube later that day. Although he wasn't supposed to sit up, Honir had Artemis lift his bed a little so he wasn't flat on his back.

"My bones ache from staying in the same position," he said, as Artemis wedged pillows around him. "How long was I out?"

"Three weeks," she told him, pulling up a chair. "Mobius is trying to get back to normal. It's been crazy."

"Really?" he said, gazing at her raptly. "Tell me."

Artemis told him, enthusiastically, for the next hour. Honir lay on the pillows, gazing at the rain, sometimes closing his eyes, but always listening.

When she finally wound down, there was silence for a while. Honir smiled and nodded. Slowly his smile vanished, and he drummed his fingers on the blanket, as if counting. Finally he said quietly, "Three weeks. Twenty-four days. No news of Infinite, in all that time?"

Artemis shook her head. "He chased the Phantom Ruby into null space and they disappeared."

"He had the strength to cross the world border, then," Honir said, looking satisfied. "We won't see him again." He gazed at the falling rain, a deep sadness stealing across his features. "Poor Elder, I hope you find peace on whatever world you land on."

"I'm surprised he left you alive," Artemis said angrily. "He tore your soul right out of your body! I saw it!"

"It was my life force," Honir said. "Not my soul. I thought he would take it all ... but he must have left me a little. Even when it was in his best interests, he was unwilling to kill me. Ah! Elder! You never could abandon yourself entirely. That's what it takes to be Infinite."

Artemis pretended not to see the tears in the jackal's eyes. She gazed at his hand, instead. "He had a little mercy in him, I guess. He didn't kill me, and he could have, multiple times."

"The Ruby twisted his kindness into sadism," Honir said. "But he wasn't always that way. I grieved over the changes it made in him. Wherever he is, I hope he can overcome the Ruby and destroy it. He has my power, but he doesn't have me to argue with. I only hope he's strong enough alone."

He looked at the staples in his chest and ran one finger along them. The unsealed wound beneath glowed a dull red. "I wonder if they can remove my prototype. This didn't hurt while I was in the tube, but now, it's ..." He gasped a little and let his hand fall to his side. "It's really awful. I just want to be well."

"I don't see why not," Artemis said, gazing at his mutilated chest. "You don't have to be an experiment anymore."

"No longer Finite," Honir said with a grim smile. Suddenly he raised his head and his yellow eyes grew fierce. "Tell the doctor that I must speak to the leaders of Apotos and Spagonia as soon as I'm strong enough. The time has come to tell my secrets at last."

* * *

Artemis wasn't allowed to be in the room when Honir told the leaders of four countries the secrets he had been keeping. But as they departed, Artemis observed the excitement on their faces and the way they spoke excitedly in undertones.

Afterward, she was allowed back into his room. The black jackal lay against the pillows, looking exhausted. For a second, he reminded her sharply of his older brother as he had laid in the stretcher with a hole in his chest.

"What did you tell them?" she asked. "They were sure excited."

"There was more than one Resistance," he said without opening his eyes. "There were three. I organized all of them. I was injured while setting up the fourth one in Adabat."

Artemis stared at him. "You ...?"

He smiled and opened his eyes. "You might say it was a finite resistance."

The wolf laughed. "Is that why you were in Willow Springs?"

He nodded. "I couldn't get an audience with your alpha in time, or the battle would have gone much differently. But I saved you." He held out one hand, palm upward.

Artemis took it. "I wish you could have saved more of my pack."

"I did," Honir said, looking surprised. "Didn't I tell you? Half the Gemstone pack joined the Spagonia resistance after they lost their alpha. I manifested my projection all over Mobius, carrying news. It was the only way I could work against the Elder - Infinite, I mean."

Artemis sat very still. Hope struggled inside her. "You mean ... some of my family might ...?"

"Your father is gone, I'm afraid," Honir said. "Your mother was wounded, but they saved her. They ran a very fierce resistance to Eggman's rule. The Spagonia leaders are going to make contact with them at once."

She leaped to her feet, eyes wide. "Honir! I could go back! I could go home! My pack is still alive!" Gone was the aimless loneliness she had felt as the Resistance disbanded. Gone was her sense of helplessness. Returning to her pack would change everything.

"Yes, you can go back," Honir said. "But ... could you wait until I'm well? I want to go with you."

She looked into his eyes and saw unexpected tenderness there. It was underscored by piercing loneliness she understood too well. Honir had lost his pack, too.

"Of course," she murmured, sitting at his side again. "Of course I'll wait."

* * *

Artemis waited while Honir went through surgery to remove the Phantom Ruby prototype and mend his damaged torso. She waited as he was fitted with a prosthetic leg and learned to walk again. He regained strength at an amazing rate, owning to the powerful life force that burned within him, healing wounds and sickness.

Two months later, the wolf and jackal left the hospital together. Sonic met them at the border of Eggmanland, where there was a bus station a short walk from a clear, blue lake. It was a clear, cold day, the grass brown underfoot as winter approached.

"Hey guys," Sonic said, giving each of them a high five. "Ready to do this?"

"Very much," Artemis said. She took Honir's arm and steadied him as they walked down the hill toward the lake. He carried the Ruby prototype in one hand, and walked with care, watching his footing. The prosthetic leg was a high-tech design from Eggman's top engineers. It responded to nerve commands like a real leg, but Honir hadn't quite mastered it yet.

As they reached the pebbly shore, Sonic said, "So, what're your plans?"

"I'm going home to Spagonia," Artemis said. "Some of my pack are still alive, and I want them to meet Honir."

Sonic nodded. "I'm headed that way, myself, in a few months. I'm helping with cleanup wherever I can." He gazed across the water, a little sadly. Artemis remembered his anguish about selling each country to Eggman during interrogation. He would be atoning for that for years.

"Silver wanted to see you," Sonic said, brightening. "He has about a billion questions for both of you. He's decided to stay in this time for now. He said something about working out a deal with Solaris."

Artemis grinned. Honir flinched. "Solaris? The time god?"

Sonic nodded. "Yep. I'll send him to Spagonia. Willow Springs, right?"

Artemis nodded with a quickening of her heartbeat. Soon she would reunite with her pack. Soon she would see her friend Silver again. Soon everyone would meet Honir and hail him as the hero he was.

Honir held out the Ruby prototype. "Sonic, will you do the honors?"

Sonic took the Ruby and set it carefully on a large stone. Then he took another stone in both hands. He lifted it above his head, then brought it down with all his strength. The Phantom Ruby prototype shattered into twinkling shards. Sonic gathered up as many as he could find and threw them into the lake. They vanished with a series of small plops and ripples.

"There," Honir said. "The last vestige of the Phantom Ruby is removed from this world."

Sonic shook hands with each of them. "Glad that's over with. Listen. If you ever need help, don't hesitate to ask, okay? I'm never too busy to help my friends."

Artemis grinned slyly. "Even Amy?"

Sonic raised an eyebrow, his grin widening. "Amy is in a class by herself."

They said goodbye, and Sonic raced off down the road. Artemis and Honir climbed the hill to the bus stop.

"That's a load off my mind," Honir panted, holding onto Artemis's arm. "But you know? All of it was worth it. The suffering and the secrets and the friction with Infinite. You and I ... we made a difference."

She patted him on the back. "I never thought you were Lesser."

He ducked his head with a shy smile. "Maybe now ... I won't have to be."

The end


End file.
